Not so according to David A. Andelman at Forbes.com. He takes issues with Greenberg's newfound assertions of naivety based on personal experience with the insurance industry exec.

Case in point:

To suggest today that Greenberg had no real knowledge or understanding of any insurance product on his watch at this company that he ran with an iron fist for 35 years seems, at least to someone who has witnessed how he works closeup, a trifle naive. Indeed, if the numbers of various prosecutors circling AIG and the Fifth Amendment pleadings by its top executives are any indication, perhaps criminally naive. We'll see.

But it seems doubtful that the annual report was the only item Greenberg micromanaged. At AIG, he had a hand in virtually every new and innovative insurance product that launched from the moment he took control of the small property-casualty operation with its roots in Shanghai. There were even taxi vouchers for his executives that he scrutinized to the finest detail.

That was how Greenberg built the insurance company, which had a $13 million profit when he took charge as CEO in 1967, into a global giant with $11 billion in earnings on a stunning $100 billion in revenue last year--more than the gross national product of OPEC-member Venezuela. His attention to detail was legendary.

Now all of this may be coming back to bite him where it hurts.

Indeed. More at Forbes.com.

And for more on the on-going investigation into A.I.G., check out the latest post from peter Henning at the White Collar Crime Prof. Blog.

-- MDT

Labels: AIG, Peter Henning