New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Monday that 15 employees who received some of the largest bonuses from American International Group Inc (AIG) have agreed to return the more than US$30 million in payments in full.
In total, AIG employees have agreed to return about US$50 million of the US$165 million in bonuses awarded earlier this month by the troubled insurer, Cuomo’s office said.
Cuomo said he still hopes that more AIG employees will return their bonuses. At most, Cuomo said his office could hope to recoup US$80 million of the bonuses — roughly the amount paid out to US employees.
PHOTO: AFP
“I applaud the employees who are returning the bonuses,” Cuomo said during a conference call with reporters. “I think they are being responsive to the American people.”
Cuomo said nine of the 10 people receiving the largest awards have agreed to return their bonus. Additionally, 15 of the top 20 bonus recipients have consented to returning their money. Cuomo said some have refused to return the money, while others are still considering it.
“We are deeply gratified that a vast majority of Financial Products’ senior leadership have expressed a willingness to forsake their recent retention payments,” spokeswoman Christina Pretto wrote in an e-mailed statement. She said the company was continuing to review the responses of the other employees.
AIG has come under heavy criticism because the bonuses were given to employees after the company received US$170 billion in government bailout money. AIG chief executive Edward Liddy told Congress last week that some of the employees were willing to give the money back.
But Liddy has expressed concern that the company may not be able to attract and retain talented employees if they believe their compensation is subject to adjustment by the Treasury.
Pretto said on Monday that a “handful” of senior-level executives have resigned from the financial products division and that there would likely be more resignations to come.
“We do believe that at this point it’s all manageable,” she said.
Cuomo said he didn’t plan to release the names of the employees who agreed to return the bonuses and said there was no implied threat that if an employee did not return the bonus that their name would be released. Cuomo had sought the names of the employees who received bonuses from Liddy through a subpoena.
He said his office is continuing to assess the security of the employees.
About 400 employees and future employees in AIG’s financial products division received bonuses. Documents provided by AIG to the Treasury Department said the awards ranged from US$1,000 to nearly US$6.5 million. Seven employees were to receive more than US$3 million.
Last week Cuomo said AIG paid bonuses of US$1 million or more to 73 employees, including 11 who no longer work there.
Separately, Connecticut’s consumer protection division has subpoenaed AIG, demanding that the contracts and names of employees who received the bonuses be provided by March 27. Governor M. Jodi Rell has said she wants the division to determine whether the bonuses can be voided under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The headquarters of AIG’s financial products division is located in Wilton, Connecticut.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said his office also demanded the bonus recipients’ names and the amounts.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS