(Reuters) NEW YORK – The former head of American International Group Inc., Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, will not answer questions on Tuesday from regulators looking into improper accounting by the insurance powerhouse.

Attorney David Boies said in a statement on Monday that Greenberg decided against testifying because he needed more time to prepare for the questioning by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

Investigators denied requests to delay the testimony, Boies said, adding that the probe involves thousands of documents and relates to a “great number of transactions,” some dating back as much as 20 years.

Greenberg, while declining to testify, will nonetheless appear before investigators on Tuesday.

In the United States, a person can invoke the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution and decline to answer questions that might be self incriminating.
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