MF Global’s tumultuous quest to recover lost customer money hit another obstacle Friday when Illinois-based Highridge Futures Fund reported its entire $50 million account with the defunct firm missing.
The futures fund claims trustee James Giddens refused to help locate its account with MF Global and failed to report the status of the account, which led commodity positions and cash. According to Highridge, Giddens and CME Group Inc.’s Chicago Mercantile Exchange said the account was being transferred, but the transfer never occurred.
Last week, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn allowed distribution of about $2.1 billion to former MF Global commodities customers, doubling the payout, which is expected to restore at least two-thirds of the U.S.-based property to former customers.
Highridge has asked a federal bankruptcy judge to order Giddens to find the missing account, but Kent Jarrell, a spokesman for Giddens, told Reuters the trustee’s office and Highridge are trying to resolve the matter without the need for court ruling.
Meanwhile, MF Global’s former CEO Jon Corzine is set to testify about the collapse after the House Agriculture Committee in Congress voted to subpoena the former New Jersey governor. Investigators say MF Global may have transferred the missing customer funds for its own needs and the total amount missing is still unclear, with an estimate at about $1.2 billion or more.
