AIG wants to repay taxpayer money from court winnings

Days before legal fight with Starr International Co, company headed by former AIG CEO Maurice Greenberg, AIG stated that it would use any winnings to repay US taxpayers. "While any relief granted for AIG's equitable and legal claims will be subject to the findings and judgment of the court, AIG intends to use any monetary damages, including $4.3 billion of illicit stock sales, to repay the company's debt to the U.S. government," said AIG spokesman Mark Herr.

The case is planned to be held on Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. It relates to a long-contested block of AIG stocks which are possessed by Starr International Co. As AIG claims Starr International has broken fiduciary duty and now AIG wants to wring back shares held by Starr and the proceeds of any sales. Additionally to that AIG is trying to repay $85 billion to taxpayers.

AIG stocks possessed by Starr have been apple of discord since Greenberg’s departure from AIG in 2005 amid a broad investigation into the insurer's accounting practices. Greenberg structured Starr International as a vehicle to protect the insurer from hostile takeover in 1970. Since those times Starr had held a sizable stake in AIG. In 2005 the number of those stocks was about 290 million, then worth some $20 billion. Since that some of the stocks were sold. The value of remained stock has fallen due to more than $100 billion in losses of AIG. Now Starr is run by Greenberg as a private investment vehicle and for charity since it refused to be a compensation vehicle for AIG executives in 2005.

The case will be heard by jury, as requested AIG.