McKinsey & Co. to pay $650M to settle opioid consulting probe, ex-partner to plead guilty

McKinsey & Company agreed to pay $650 million in a deferred prosecution agreement that will resolve a federal criminal probe into the company’s consulting work advising Purdue Pharma on how to increase sales of its opioid painkiller OxyContin, a court filing said Friday.

A former top partner at McKinsey, Martin Elling, also agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice next month in the probe by the U.S. Department of Justice, according to a filing in U.S. District Court in Abingdon, Virginia.

The criminal charging document that McKinsey agreed to have filed by prosecutors alleges the consulting giant “knowingly and intentionally” conspired with Purdue Pharma “and others to aid and abet the misbranding of prescription drugs.”

The document also said McKinsey is accused, through the acts of its then-partner Elling, of “knowingly destroying and concealing records and documents with the intent” to impede the investigation by the Department of Justice.

McKinsey, which previously agreed to pay almost $1 billion to settle lawsuits by states, local governments and others related to its opioid consulting, accepted responsibility for the conduct alleged by federal prosecutors, according to the deferred prosecution agreement.

CNBC has requested comment from McKinsey.