Ex-Dublin Cologne Re chief to plead guilty

The former chief executive of Cologne Re in Dublin, John Houldsworth, has agreed to settle with US regulators in an investigation of transactions involving insurance giant American International Group (AIG).

Lawyers for Mr Houldsworth, who worked in the International Financial Services Centre, said he had agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiring with others to mis-state some of AIG's financial statements.

Mr Houldsworth has been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with aiding and abetting AIG to commit securities fraud, according to individuals familiar with the matter.

The charges relate to two financial reinsurance contracts that AIG entered into with General Re, part of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway group, in December 2000 and March 2001.

Cologne Re is a subsidiary of General Re.

The SEC is expected to file charges against other individuals involved in the AIG case soon.

In a partial settlement of the SEC charges, Mr Houldsworth has agreed to a bar on him serving as a director. Financial penalties will be finalised later.

White & Case, the law firm representing Mr Houldsworth, said he had agreed to co-operate with the US Department of Justice and the SEC in their investigations. "John is co-operating fully with the US Department of Justice and SEC and accepts full responsibility for his role in these matters," said a White partner.

"He deeply regrets his action in working with others to assist in this scheme," he added

A civil lawsuit led by New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer alleged last month that the agreements with General Re were "sham" contracts designed to enable AIG to book $500 million of loss reserves - the provisions that insurers set aside to cover future claims.

The suit alleges Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, the deposed chairman and chief executive of AIG, personally initiated the contracts by approaching Ronald Ferguson, president of General Re, in October 2000. It alleges Mr Houldsworth was involved in the creation by AIG and General Re of false documents, making it appear that General Re had approached AIG to buy re-insurance.

After an inquiry last year by the Australian regulator, Mr Houldsworth was among six General Re executives barred from working at a senior level in the Australian insurance industry.