A lawsuit filed on behalf of shareholders of AIG , is demanding company executives return millions of dollars in bonuses , dividends and other perks .
The lawsuit , which seeks class-action status , seeks unspecified damages , as well as the removal of AIG's top brass . It claims shareholders have lost $200 billion because of AIG's gross mismanagement and corporate waste over the past 8 and half years .
Freedom Watch , an organization that advocates for ethics in government , filed the lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles .
Among the defendants named in the lawsuit are former Cheif Executives Maurice Greenberge , Martin Sullivan , and Robert Willumstad , as well as current CEO Edward Liddy .
An AIG spokwsman said Friday the company had no comment . The defendants " have sseriously undermined and damaged AIG's finacial health and valuable past reputation by systematically causing and/or permitting the company to engage in a litany of highly risky , detrimental and reckless business dealings " the lawsuit states .
The company also gave misleading and false assessments when it reported earnings in 2006 and 2007 , according to the lawsuit .
Continuing to play a dividend and even raising it at one point in thr mid 2007 shows the defendents were either tryng to misrepresent the financial stability of the company or derelict in their management and oversight , the lawsuit states .
Under the Skin ,
The filing follows the recent revelation that AIG received that AIG employees got 165 million in bonuses after AIG received 182.5 billion in government aid .
The bonuses were given to employees of the finnacial products divinacial products divison , aglobal unit that issued derivatives called credit default swaps, which drove AIG almost to collapse last year .
The government intervened to privide support for AIG because of fears that a collapse of New York Based company would trigger hundreds of billions of dollars in losses at financial institutions world wide , futher crippling the already battered credit markets.
Larry Klayman , chairman and general counsel of Freedom Watch , said the problems at AIG have " gotten under the skin of the American People " .
" A lot of information has come to light " he said . " It's an issue the American People want dealt with right now " .
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