New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Monday afternoon that he will issue subpoenas to acquire information from American International Group (AIG) regarding $165 million in bonuses.
Cuomo set a deadline of 4 p.m. Eastern time for receipt of the information, and that deadline was not met. Items requested include a list of all employees receiving bonuses, as well as their job description and job performance information.
The $165 million in bonuses was sent to AIG’s financial products unit, which was held responsible for losses totaling billions of dollars.
“I believe in transparency and disclosure,” Mr. Cuomo said via a conference call on Monday regarding the situation. “We believe taxpayers have a right to know.”
AIG maintains that it was required to make the payments due to binding contracts with employees. And although those receiving the funds are employed by one of AIG’s losing divisions, the company’s hands are tied due to legally binding agreements, according to The Wall Street Journal , which cited government advisor Lawrence H. Summers of the National Economic Council.
On Monday, Cuomo echoed President Barack Obama when he said the Treasury Department would use “every single legal avenue” to prevent the bonuses from being distributed.
Cuomo also stated that contracts can be renegotiated, and said that the rules had changed following AIG’s acceptance of government money.
“You could argue that if taxpayers hadn’t bailed out AIG, the contracts wouldn’t be worth the paper they were signed on,” he said during the call.
Cuomo said that if AIG maintains the information is privileged and private, “We’ll go to court and have that discussion.”
AIG could not immediately be reached for comment.
Scroll down to read Attorney General Cuomo letter to AIG CEO regarding bonuses
Attorney General Cuomo Letter to AIG CEO Regarding Bonuses
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