Britain's Serious Fraud Office has launched an investigation into a British subsidiary of US insurance giant American International Group (AIG).
The probe, which is at an early stage, began after authorities were alerted to 'irregularities' at the division, the office said. The SFO said it was cooperating with US authorities, who are already conducting separate, independent investigations.
'SFO's inquiry does not concern the insurance operations of AIG in the UK or elsewhere, a statement said.
AIG was partly-nationalised late last year in a US government bail-out which topped $152 billion. 'It is right for us to look into the UK operations of AIG Financial Products Corp to determine if there has been criminal conduct,' said SFO director Richard Alderman.
AIG, the world's largest insurer before the global credit crisis, was on the brink of collapse when the US government offered a crucial lifeline and took a stake in the firm in mid-September.
