商业报道:AIG起诉前CEO

AIG sues former CEO

The insurance giant accuses former chief 'Hank' Greenberg and 6 others of misappropriating $20 billion of AIG shares.

The world’s largest insurer by asset is suing its CEO and 6 other executives. AIG is suing the man that ran their company for 38 years, Hank Greenberg, and also the former CFO and other executives at the company for what they say was misappropriation of 20 billion dollars worth of AIG stock. Here is a look at where AIG is, up a little bit today but still well off the highs it’s seen over the past year.

I want to get into exactly what this means, give you some context cause' it is a bit confusing. This case was filed in New York Supreme¹ Court on Wednesday. Now what it says is that Hank Greenberg, also CFO, former CFO, Howard Smith, took over company stock held by AIG affiliate² Starr International back in 2005. Starr International is the largest shareholder³ in AIG, AIG claims the defendants⁴ put themselves on Starr's board, converted the Starr into a private investment vehicle.

Now this just escalates⁵ a legal conflict that has been brewing⁷ between AIG and Hank Greenberg for quite some time. Remember back in March of 05, Greenberg was forced to step down from AIG, two months later, uh, then New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued Greenberg accusing him of ordering improper⁸ transactions as a means to hide losses and also inflate⁹ reserves.

That case is still pending¹⁰, but again, this comes as just another hit for the man that ran AIG for 38 years. The complaint, it seeks to prevent Greenberg and also the former CFO, Howard Smith and other executives from selling AIG stock.

Notes:

Brew⁶: To be imminent¹¹; impend¹²

世界资产最大的保险公司正在起诉其前CEO和其他6名管理人员。AIG起诉经营了该公司38年的前CEO Hank Greenberg和前CFO以及其他几名管理人员，声称他们挪用价值200亿美元的AIG股票。今天AIG股价上涨了一点，但是仍然远远低于去年的最高水平。

我觉得要弄清楚我的意思，需要了解一些背景，因为情况很令人困惑。这起案件周三在纽约高级法院进行。据称，Hank Greenberg和前CFO Howard Smith于2005年接管了AIG的分公司Starr International。Starr International是AIG最大的股东。AIG称，被告人名自己为Starr的董事会成员，将Starr转变成私人投资机构。

现在，AIG和Hank Greenberg之间酝酿多时的司法冲突已经在扩大。2005年3月份，Greenberg曾被迫从AIG辞职。两个月之后，纽约州检察总长起诉Greenberg瞒报损失，夸大资产。

该案件目前仍然悬而未决，但是，这对经营了AIG 38年的这个人又是一个重大打击。该起诉主要是为了防止Greenberg和前CFO Howard Smith以及其他管理人员出售AIG股票。

单词注解：

Brew：即将到来，酝酿

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

3 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

4 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

5 escalates   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的第三人称单数 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• As the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. 面临的挑战越大，越需要团队协同合作。 来自互联网
• I cannot understand why a minor disagreement escalates into a fist-fight. 我真不明白为什么一点意见不合就变成了拳头相见。 来自互联网

6 brew   

v.酿造，调制

参考例句：

• Let's brew up some more tea.咱们沏些茶吧。
• The policeman dispelled the crowd lest they should brew trouble.警察驱散人群，因恐他们酿祸。

7 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

8 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

9 inflate   

vt.使膨胀，使骄傲，抬高（物价）

参考例句：

• The buyers bid against each other and often inflate the prices they pay.买主们竞相投标，往往人为地提高价钱。
• Stuart jumped into the sea and inflated the liferaft.斯图尔特跳到海里给救生艇充气。

10 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

11 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

12 impend   

v.迫近，逼近，即将发生

参考例句：

• Crucial events impend in Europe.欧洲即将发生具有决定意义的事变。
• This very recklessness makes me feel that these costly operations may be only the prelude to far larger events which impend on land.这种孤注一掷的作法，使我感到这些代价重大的战役，也许正是陆上即将发生远为。