AIG ex-CEO sued over plundering a retirement program

Testimonials of witnesses have been heard on Tuesday in the civil trial of AIG’s former top executive, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, who has been accused of plundering an AIG retirement program. This trial relates to events that have occurred before AIG has been criticized for paying out $ 165 million out of $ 182 billion which it accepted as federal aid in bonuses to employees. 

Attorney Theodore Wells told that Greenberg improperly took $ 4.3 billion in stock from the company in 2005 and that he allowed the sale of tens of millions of shares from a trust fund. Initially, the trust fund has been established to motivate a select group of AIG management and highly compensated employees by providing incentive bonuses that should be received upon retirement.

Contesting Wells’ accusation on selling the shares of trust fund, Greenberg stated that he had the right to sell them because those shares had not been owned by AIG, but by Starr International, a private company. David Boies, Greenberg’s lawyer, supported his client by stating that shares did not belong to AIG. 

US District Judge Jed S. Rakoff said that the trial would not last more than a month.