New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer has given hope to AIG executives by indicating a settlement is "achievable".
Spitzer said in a statement that "civil resolution with the corporation will ultimately be achievable". The statement indicated that criminal charges have been ruled out in the inquiries into potential accounting irregularities at AIG, at least by Spitzer's office.
The investigations into AIG also involve the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice.
Meanwhile lawyers for former AIG chief executive Maurice 'Hank' Greenberg have defended their client on US TV.
David Boies, of law firm Boies Schiller & Flexner, said on a US talk show that Greenberg would not have initiated a reinsurance transaction with General Reinsurance if he had thought the accounting treatment was improper.
