Official reports have confirmed that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is currently busy trying to defuse allegations that the central bank chose to voluntarily hide details with regards to the $182.3 billion bailout of American International Group Inc., and has also called for a scrutiny of the Fed's action by congressional auditors.

Mr. Bernanke, in a letter he sent out to the Government Accountability Office yesterday, pledged “all records and personnel necessary” for an audit. Additionally, the New York Fed sent in
250,000 pages of documents to a U. S. House committee, an action being viewed as a response to a January 12 subpoena which demanded all materials that were related to the decision to completely reimburse banks that had purchased protection to AIG.

“Bernanke wants to do everything possible to dispel any doubt of any inappropriate actions related to AIG. An invitation to audit will clear the air and allow Bernanke to say 'I’ve asked for a full GAO investigation'", said former Fed Governor Robert Heller.

"The Federal Reserve extended this credit to prevent the immediate disorderly failure of the company, an event that likely would have led to a significant intensification of an already severe financial crisis and a further worsening of global economic conditions", Mr. Bernanke wrote in the letter.