AIG Bonus Payments Controversy - Response By State Officials

Response By State Officials

On March 16, 2009, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sent a letter to AIG demanding "the list of individuals who are to receive payments" and "a description of each individual's job description and performance at AIG Financial Products" in order to determine "whether any of the individuals receiving such payments were involved in the conduct that led to AIG's demise and subsequent bailout" and "whether, as you claim, such individuals are truly required to unwind AIG Financial Product's positions." AIG failed to respond, so Cuomo subpoenaed them for the names of the bonus recipients. Cuomo announced that 73 AIG employees were each paid more than $1 million in bonuses, saying "AIG made more than 73 millionaires in the unit which lost so much money that it brought the firm to its knees, forcing a taxpayer bailout." and "Something is deeply wrong with this outcome."

On March 21, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal issued a subpoena to AIG to find out why they gave out an additional $53 million in bonuses on top of the $165 million already reported.

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