By Grant McCool

American International Group Inc will be taken to court if it does not provide details of bonus recipients today, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said.

Cuomo also told reporters on a conference call that in accordance with a state court ruling published Wednesday, he expects Bank of America Corp to hand over the names of the 200 highest bonus earners at Merrill Lynch & Co last year.

For months, Cuomo has been pressing for details on the billions of dollars paid to executives at several banks that received U.S. government bailout money.

His probe is to determine whether the firms broke securities laws on disclosure. At AIG, bonuses included $165 million at the unit that brought the company close to collapse. At Merrill, bonuses totaling $3.6 billion were paid just before the company was bought by Bank of America on January 1.

We will be receiving the Bank of America information today, and when we get it we will be reviewing it, Cuomo said. We'll decide where to go from there.

He said of his request to insurance giant AIG, The subpoena is due today. We have, as of before going on this telephone call, not received anything from AIG, so they have not yet complied with the subpoena.

If they do not comply with the subpoena, I will take them to court.

Cuomo, New York state's top legal officer, established a deadline of the close of business today (Thursday).

CNBC TV reported that AIG had offered Cuomo the names of bonus earners in exchange for confidentiality.

Cuomo released details of his probe earlier this week, saying 73 AIG employees had received bonuses of $1 million or more in 2008, even as the insurer was being supported by $180 billion in taxpayer bailout money.

(Reporting by Grant McCool; editing by John Wallace)

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