The American International Group’s financial products unit, which brought the firm to the verge of collapse with bad bets on credit-default swaps, is being investigated by British prosecutors for possible criminal conduct.
Investigators of the Serious Fraud Office are working with the authorities in the United States who are conducting separate reviews, the fraud office, which is based in London, said Thursday. A.I.G. said it was cooperating with the inquiry. The investigation does not involve A.I.G.’s insurance operations.
Separately, A.I.G. said it had put its Tokyo headquarters building up for sale in an effort to raise money to pay down a loan from the United States government. The company owns a 15-story building in Marunouchi, Japan’s most expensive business district.
A.I.G., which committed to sell most of its businesses to pay back the government, had to restructure its bailout last year after reduced access to credit constricted the ability of potential buyers to bid on the company’s units.
The government rescued A.I.G. last year to cut losses for banks that did business with the insurer.
A.I.G. is unwinding its financial products business, which sold derivatives including protection on fixed-income assets and caused about $34 billion in write-downs amid the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.
Joseph Norton, a spokesman for A.I.G., declined to comment on the investigation in Britain, but the company acknowledged it in a statement.
The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating how A.I.G. valued its swap portfolio and disclosed information about the contracts to investors, A.I.G. said in a November regulatory filing.
A spokesman for the Serious Fraud Office, Sam Jaffa, said the agency planned to meet with American investigators and company executives in the next two to three weeks.
Britain’s market regulator, the Financial Services Authority, is also participating in the A.I.G. inquiry. The Serious Fraud Office investigates and prosecutes the most complex and high-value financial crime in Britain.
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