NEW YORK - American International Group Inc has filed a complaint in New York Supreme Court against former Chief Executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg and six other former directors and officers, accusing them of breaching their fiduciary duty.

In the complaint, filed on Wednesday, AIG alleges Greenberg, former Chief Financial Officer Howard Smith and five others breached their fiduciary duty through "misappropriation of a special block of AIG shares worth approximately $20 billion in 2005."

The shares were held by Starr International Co Inc, a company that had been affiliated with AIG and had been used as a special compensation vehicle for chosen employees of the insurer.

Since Greenberg's 2005 ouster from AIG, amid an accounting scandal, he has retained control of Starr International, running the company as a private investment vehicle. Starr's 9.7 percent stake in AIG makes it the insurer's largest shareholder, according to current Reuters data.

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