McKinsey to pay $650m to resolve US investigation into opioid crisis role

McKinsey says the justice department settlement ‘brings closure to this chapter in our firm’s history’. Photograph: Mark Lennihan/AP

The consultancy giant McKinsey has agreed to pay the US Department of Justice $650m over the next five years to resolve an investigation into the consulting firm’s role in the opioid epidemic.

As part of the deferred prosecution agreement, McKinsey accepted responsibility for its role in the crisis and accepted wrongdoing outlined in the investigation. The charges against the firm will be dropped if the company follows the agreement’s terms over the next five years.