No criminal charges seen in AIG's collapse: TV report

03/04/2010 - 0:48

NEW YORK (Reuters) - CBS News reported late Friday that Joseph Cassano, the former AIG executive closely linked with the giant insurer's 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 company -- with no criminal charges likely to be filed.

AIG received a $182 billion federal bailout during the height of Wall Street's liquidity crisis in September 2008, when regulators feared that AIG's massive losses from complex transactions could crash the global financial system.

"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 published on its website.

Federal investigators have found no evidence that Cassano lied to his bosses or shareholders about AIG's financial problems, sources told CBS News, according to the exclusive story posted online.

That means no one is likely to be held criminally liable for the company's downfall, CBS News reported.