AIG, Cuomo meet over company expenses

ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the new chairman of American International Group Inc. met Thursday to discuss the company's expenses.

The Democratic attorney general and the insurance giant had a "candid discussion," a joint statement said.

The statement said Cuomo informed AIG that it must recover bonuses and other perks paid to former executives.

AIG Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Edward Liddy agreed to provide the New York attorney general's office with an accounting of all compensation paid to its senior executives and agreed to assist Cuomo's office recover any illegal expenditures.

"These actions are not intended to jeopardize the hard-earned compensation of the vast majority of AIG's employees, including retention and severance arrangements, who are essential to rebuilding AIG and the economy of New York," Cuomo said.

The company has also agreed to, among other things, establish a Special Governance Committee that will institute new expense management controls.

AIG sponsored a luxurious trip to the St. Regis resort in Monarch Beach, Calif., a week after the U.S. government took over 79.9 percent of the company and granted it an $80 billion line of credit, the Daily News reported Thursday.

More recently, four AIG executives spent $86,000 hunting partridges at a retreat in Britain, the newspaper said.

Cuomo's said his message to the company was simple: "The party's over. No more hunting trips, no more resorts."