(Why haven't we heard any outrage about this guy, Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg and his ties to...Bush/Cheney '04, Bush-Quayle '92, John McCain 2008, McCain Victory Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Nixon Center, Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee, Securing America's Future Energy, Bush Pioneer 2000, Bush Pioneer 2004)

A.I.G. to Restate Its Earnings for 3rd Time This Year

By GRETCHEN MORGENSON
Published: November 10, 2005

Correction Appended

The American International Group, the insurance giant that is struggling to put its accounting irregularities behind it, said yesterday that it would restate its financial results over the last five years by another $500 million.

But unlike A.I.G.'s past restatements, which have reduced its earnings, this restatement reflects income that was underreported and will add to the company's earnings over the period.

A.I.G., which is trying to restore investor trust after an accounting scandal that forced its chief executive, Maurice R. Greenberg, from his job, did not provide specific details about the errors or the periods when they were made. The company said the new mistakes were related to how it accounts for derivatives, its reconciliation of balance sheet accounts and income tax accounting.

Chris Winans, an A.I.G. spokesman, declined to provide additional data on the most recent accounting missteps identified by the company. He said A.I.G. would give investors more details on Monday, when it announces its third-quarter results.

(more at link)

<http://select.nytimes.com/2005/11/10/business/10insure.html?scp=9&sq=Greenberg+A.+I.+G.+Eliot+Spitzer&st=nyt>

Hello! Anyone here tonight?:kick:

:kick:

else.

...The accounting errors, A.I.G. said in May, "...appear to have had the purpose of achieving an accounting result that would enhance measures important to the financial community and that may have involved documentation that did not accurately reflect the nature of the arrangements...."

Translation: They lied in order not to spook the market and cause a crash in the price of A. I. G. stock.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/30/AR2008093002621.html



In the four decades that Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg was at the helm of American International Group, he persuaded Washington to back him on many deals that helped his insurance company beat competitors and ultimately grow into the 18th-largest corporation in the world.

Greenberg makes no apologies for personally dialing lawmakers and senior White House officials to try to protect AIG's interests, especially when he sought to break into untapped foreign markets. In a rare interview since the company he built imploded and received an $85 billion government bailout, he said that knowing Washington was a critical part of his job as he expanded AIG to operate with $1 trillion in assets and in 130 countries.

"I think a CEO should be directly involved," said Greenberg, who was ousted as chairman in early 2005 but remains a force by owning and controlling the largest single chunk of the company's stock. "When you're growing a company and trying to get into other markets . . . what do you think a CEO should do? Go to the movies?"

Greenberg was the architect of AIG's muscular Washington lobbying effort, which spent $72 million in the past 10 years and led the corporation to be ranked as one of the top 30 lobbying powers in recent history. Aided by the $7 million that the company and its executives poured into presidential and congressional campaigns and the $25 million that Greenberg's charitable foundation gave to powerful anti-regulation trade groups, AIG's clout in Washington soared.

"AIG was the ultimate insider corporation that had a revolving door with Washington, and could grab the attention of any policymaker with the money they spread around Capitol Hill," said Richard Ferlauto, director of corporate governance and pension investment at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "It's an incredible amount of money they've used to push back against regulations that were designed to protect the American consumer."