In an attempt to shield itself from public indignation, American International Group – which intends paying bonuses worth millions of dollars to its top-rung executives yet again, despite the countrywide uproar in reaction to its earlier handouts – is urging the federal government to sanctify the payments of another round of bonuses to top corporate executives.

The recession-plagued insurance company’s request, which is an apparent political cover rather than an obligatory condition, has put the administration’s newly-appointed ‘compensation czar’, Kenneth Feinberg, in a tight spot, as it pertains to bonuses promised long before he took his post last month.

The ‘compensation czar,’ appointed by President Obama, is responsible for watching over the compensation of top executives at the seven firms that have availed large federal bailouts.

This time round, the payments in question are much lesser than the March handouts worth $165 million, in the so-called ‘retention bonuses.’ The March disclosure of bonus payments by AIG – which has received a $180 billion bailout package - had enraged both the lawmakers as well as the ordinary Americans, and almost put in jeopardy the government's endeavors to rescue the financial system.

Elaborating on AIG’s decision of seeking government approval, a company official said: “Any time we write a check to anybody it is highly scrutinized. We would want to feel comfortable that the government is comfortable with what we are doing.”