Another surprising news from Wall Street. CBS News reported late Friday that Joseph Cassano, the man most responsible for AIG’s (AIG) near collapse in September 2008, will meet with U.S. Justice Department attorneys next week in what will probably end the two-year criminal investigation into the international insurer – with no criminal charges likely to be filed.
“Sources tell CBS News that the criminal case against Cassano – once called ‘the Man who Crashed the World’ – has ‘hit a brick wall,'” the network said in an exclusive story posted on its website. According to CBS, federal investigators have been unable to uncover any evidence that Cassano lied to his superiors about financial problems at AIG.
Cassano was president of AIG’s Financial Products Unit which trafficked in the credit-default swaps. He raked in $280 million in cash over an eight year period beginning in 2000. For every dollar Cassano’s financial products division made — run by him since 1988 — 30 cents came back to Cassano and other top execs. After the unit lost $11 billion, Cassano was fired Feb. 29, 2008.
Basically what this means is that no one at AIG will be held criminally liable for blowing up the largest insurance company in the world.
I guess stealing is legal now.
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