Shamed: 15 of 20 Top AIG Bonus Recipients Return the Money

Posted by Marcus Baram, Huffington Post at 3:36 PM on March 23, 2009.

Fifteen of the top 20 bonus recipients at AIG have returned about $30 million of their payments, according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Some of the holdouts have refused, others have been unable to be contacted and others are still deliberating while they consider the tax ramifications, explained Cuomo.

In a conference call with reporters, Cuomo also added that 9 of the top 10 recipients had given back the bonuses.

In total, he predicts that $80 million will be returned, explaining that only 47% of the payouts went to American employees of the embattled firm.

Cuomo praised those who returned the money for their responsiveness to public outrage, stating that they had "risen to the occasion."

Addressing those employees, Cuomo said, You have done the right thing... what this country needs and demands," adding "We're living in a new era of corporate and individual responsibility."

Though he denied any implicit threat, Cuomo seemed to reveal some of his negotiation tactics by emphasizing that those who return the money, "they will no longer be on a list that would ever be revealed."

Last Wednesday, AIG CEO Edward Liddy told a Congressional committee that some of the firm's executives have begun returning all or part of bonuses totaling $165 million but he did not offer any details. And the next day, the House voted to tax away 90 percent of the extra pay for executives at AIG and many other bailed-out firms.

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