The US satellite company Loral said that it had paid US$14m to the US State Department to settle a claim that it passed on to China technical information that may have been used to assist Beijing’s nuclear missile programme. The issue dates back to 1996 when Loral took part in an investigation to find out the causes of an explosion on a Chinese rocket carrying a Loral satellite.
Loral agreed to the fine without admitting or denying the government’s charges. The company’s chief executive, Bernard Schwartz, said that technical data were mistakenly sent to China by a Loral employee without the approval of the US government.