Seán O'Driscoll

in New York

New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer believes the new management of insurance giant American International Group (AIG) will help conclude his office's extensive investigations into transactions on the Dublin reinsurance market.

In an interview with The Irish Times, Mr Spitzer said that his visit to Dublin last month was not designed to coincide with the investigation into AIG and the Dublin offices of the General Re insurance company.

"It was ironic because I was over there when that investigation was percolating in the press and there are a number of people out there who thought that I was over there because of that, which wasn't the case. I was over there because it happened to be school vacation so my wife and daughters could join me," he said.

He said he did not have plans to issue subpoenas to AIG or General Re staff in Dublin.

Mr Spitzer, who is running for New York governor, was briefing Irish-American leaders on his visit to the Republic last month.

In February, his office announced that it was investigating AIG and Berkshire Hathaway-owned General Re for possible fraudulent practices in reinsurance, which is protection bought by insurance companies to limit their exposure to large claims.

Investigations by Mr Spitzer's office have shown that some insurance companies have used long-term reinsurance products, known as finite reinsurance, as substitutes for bank loans, allowing them to distort their accounts.

Ten people connected to the reinsurance business have already pleaded guilty to various crimes. Former AIG chief executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg resigned last month as a result of the investigation.

Mr Spitzer said that the AIG investigation had taken "a fair bit of time" but he was confident that the new AIG management would help bring the investigation to a conclusion.

"There have been 10 guilty pleas. The investigation is in full throttle and we're continuing to find information that is highly relevant," he said.

"The company is co-operating, as it has been for the last couple of weeks. The new leadership is dedicated to ensuring integrity," he added.

Mr Spitzer said that he expected the new AIG management to resolve the investigation "for the long-range health of the company".

Asked what he had learnt about AIG from his visit to Ireland, he joked: "I learnt that they had an office there."

He said that the Irish Government was learning more about the importance of corporate governance.

"I think we're all learning at the same time. I'm certainly not going to criticise any foreign government. We are all learning, we are all figuring out how to do better," he said.

Mr Spitzer made his comments as AIG continued to restructure its management as a result of investigations by Mr Spitzer and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

AIG said yesterday that long-time director Frank Hoenemeyer would retire from the company's board of directors following AIG's 2005 annual meeting of shareholders.

Mr Hoenemeyer has been an AIG director for 20 years and sits on the compensation, executive, finance and audit committees.

Last week, AIG's board announced several management changes and a reorganisation of its executive committee.