Reply #95: Bonus Treason: BFEE Controls Big Money...like AIG

[Octafish]

And the American Insurance Group had to pay a Big Fine for corrupt accounting practices. But, that's OK. He's one of "us," an investor in ENRON, like Bushler...

Maurice 'Hank' R. Greenberg

President, American Insurance Group

The first President Bush took big-donor insurance magnate Maurice “Hank” Greenberg along with him on his 1992 trade mission to Asia. Aided by this access, the largest U.S. insurer expanded sales in Japan and became the first foreigner to sell insurance in China. When the U.S. supported China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 1999, its negotiators secured a concession that exempted AIG (see also Ned Cloonan) alone from limits on foreign investments in Chinese insurance companies. After the September 11th attacks, Greenberg led a lobbying blitz to get taxpayers to bail out terrorism-related insurance losses. At Greenberg’s request, a handwritten amendment was added to a 2001 bill granting war-risk insurance to airlines. The addendum extends the coverage to insurers that lease planes to airlines, namely AIG. Greenberg and Pioneer Robert O’Connell also pressed Bush and Pioneer Commerce Secretary Don Evans to cap insurers’ overall terrorism liability. Bush promoted the plan, which died in the Senate. Clamoring for limits on class-action lawsuits in a 2004 speech, Greenberg denounced plaintiff lawyers as “terrorists.” AIG helped Enron cook its books by investing in its notorious LJM2 partnership along with Merrill Lynch (see Stanley O’Neal) and J.P. Morgan (see Alan Buckwalter). AIG paid $10 million in 2003 to settle Securities and Exchange Commission fraud charges that it helped a struggling mobile phone company pad its earnings by selling it a phony, back-dated, insurance policy. Sitting on the compensation committee of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Greenberg helped approve the obscene $187 million retirement package that prompted the ouster of NYSE Chair Dick Grasso. Around that time, Greenberg got Grasso to pressure NYSE buyers to prop up AIG’s stock price. Greenberg was one of 22 wealthy business leaders whom President Bush invited to lunch in 2001 to discuss his tax cut for the wealthy. When a member of the Heritage Foundation (see Elaine Chao) urged Congress in 2000 to postpone a vote on normalizing trade with China, Greenberg threatened to cut off funding and the think tank quickly rethunk its position, issuing a new report entitled, “How Trade With China Benefits Americans.” When Democrat Howard Dean was governor of Vermont, he and AIG urged corporations to dodge taxes by establishing bogus insurance subsidiaries there, which AIG managed. AIG had $619,000 in federal contracts in fiscal 2002, mainly with the Air Force. With estimated net worths of $3 billion each, Greenberg and Pioneer Jack Taylor were tied at No. 56 on the 2003 “Forbes 400 Richest Americans” list.

SOURCE:

http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/ContributorsAndPaybacks/pioneer_profile.cfm?pioneer_ID=79

Here's the "fine" print...

AIG will pay Feds $126 million fine to settle PNC

November 25, 2004

NEW YORK -- American International Group, one of the biggest U.S. insurance companies, said today it would pay $126 million to settle allegations by federal authorities that it helped two customer companies commit accounting fraud.

Under an agreement awaiting Securities and Exchange Commission approval, AIG, New York, will pay a $46 million fine to the watchdog agency to settle issues surrounding transactions that helped regional bank PNC Financial Services Group pump up its earnings. AIG will also submit to an independent monitor who will examine transactions by the company between 2000 and 2004 to determine whether any third parties violated accounting rules to achieve certain results.

AIG will pay another $80 million to the Justice Department to settle a related investigation and avoid prosecution. The tentative deal to wrap up those investigations came as the Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors in New York are investigating whether AIG Chairman Maurice ''Hank'' Greenberg manipulated the huge insurance company's share price in 2001 to save money on a big acquisition.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan is looking into whether Greenberg illegally interfered with his company's share price just before AIG's acquisition of insurer American General in August 2001, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

CONTINUED...

http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-fin-aig25.html