Another set of investigators is hot on the trail of Joseph Cassano, the man who walked away with a multi-million dollar golden parachute after spearheading the credit default swaps that brought down AIG.
Investigators for the House Oversight committee intend to interview Cassano about his role in the firm’s collapse, and have already contacted his lawyer, a committee staffer told TPMmuckraker.
As CEO of AIG Financial Products, Cassano, based in the unit’s London office, was the prime mover behind the credit default swaps, whose implosion brought the firm to its knees. He stepped down in March 2008, signing a $1 million-a-month “consulting” contract with the firm. (The contract was canceled last September.)
Federal investigators, as well as Britain’s Serious Fraud Office, are also probing AIGFP. The Feds are reportedly focused in particular on whether Cassano and then-AIG CEO Martin Sullivan made false or misleading pubic statements about the company’s potential exposure to losses on its credit default swaps. A December 2007 shareholder presentation the two men made is said to be of special interest.
Cassano’s lawyer, Joseph Warin of Gibson, Dunn, and Crutcher — whose record as a white-collar crime specialist we told you about here and here — did not immediately respond to a call from TPMmuckraker.
The House Oversight committee has been probing AIG’s role in the collapse since last fall. Earlier today, we reported that former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg will testify before the committee April 2nd.