NEW YORK (Bloomberg) - Joseph Cassano, who led the American International Group Inc. (AIG) unit that brought the insurer to the brink of collapse with bad bets on sub-prime mortgages, will appear before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) next week to give his first testimony since leaving the company.

Cassano, 55, had shied away from public statements as US and UK regulators investigated his role in the money-losing trades, which he said in December 2007 would be profitable. Cassano left New York-based AIG in 2008, and probes by the Justice Department and UK regulators were dropped last month.

"It's not going to be a pleasant thing," Ernest Patrikis, a former AIG general counsel, said in an interview. "He owes an awful lot to the people of AIG who were harmed financially," said Patrikis, now a partner at White & Case LLC.

The panel, led by former California Treasurer Phil Angelides, is reviewing the role of derivatives in the credit crunch. AIG was forced into a US bailout in September 2008 after it was unable to meet collateral calls from Wall Street firms including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on credit-default swaps. The rescue, which swelled to $182.3 billion, ensured payment of $12.9 billion by AIG to Goldman Sachs on contracts including the swaps.

Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn and chief financial officer David Viniar will also appear, as will ex-AIG CEO Martin Sullivan, according to a statement on Friday on the FCIC's website.

The hearing will be held on June 30 and July 1 in WashThe hearing will be held on June 30 and July 1 in Washington.

Angelides announced on June 7 that the FCIC had subpoenaed New York-based Goldman Sachs, claiming the company tried to hinder a probe by overwhelming the panel with documents and resisting attempts to interview managers including CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

The commission is "examining causes of the collapse of major financial institutions that failed or would likely have failed had they not received exceptional government assistance", according to the statement.

Lawmakers appointed the 10-member FCIC last July to investigate the causes of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The panel, which has the power to issue subpoenas, has until December to report its findings to Congress.

Cassano was under investigation as regulators sought to determine whether executives misrepresented the value of AIG's swaps portfolio, which insured bonds tied to the US housing market. The UK Serious Fraud Office said on May 26 that a review of the business Cassano oversaw did not turn up any criminal violations. US prosecutors also won't bring charges, a person familiar with the investigation said last month.

"Perhaps he thinks now is the time that he would be able to speak more freely," Patrikis said.

Michael DuVally, a spokesman for Goldman Sachs, and Mark Herr of AIG declined to comment on the FCIC hearing. Joseph Warin and Jim Walden, Cassano's lawyers at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, did not immediately return calls for comment. Tucker Warren, a spokesman for the FCIC, said next week will be Cassano's first testimony since his departure from AIG.

Cassano built AIG's Financial Products unit over two decades into a business managing $2 trillion in derivative trades tied to bonds, currencies, commodities and stocks. He told investors in December 2007 that "it is very difficult to see how there can be any losses in these portfolios".

AIG is yet to repay about $50 billion in Treasury assistance and owes about $25 billion on a Federal Reserve credit line. Goldman Sachs, the most profitable firm in Wall Street history, has paid back bailout funds with interest.

The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Goldman Sachs, the most profitable firm in Wall Street history, in April for misleading clients including ABN Amro Bank NV in CDO trades. Goldman Sachs has said the suit is unfounded.