The Globe and Mail

The Securities and Exchange Commission said yesterday that former American International Group Inc. CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg agreed to pay a $15-million (U.S.) fine to settle fraud charges. The charges are tied to an accounting scandal earlier this decade at AIG that led to Mr. Greenberg's ouster in 2005. The following year, AIG paid more than $1.6-billion to settle charges of improper accounting. The case is unrelated to the government bailout of AIG, which is in the process of trying to sell off assets to pay off the $182.5-billion in loans it has received since last September. The SEC said AIG's former chief financial officer, Howard Smith, will pay a $1.5-million fine tied to the investigation.