MF Global's Missing Cash Doubles to $1.2B

MF Global’s problems might be even bigger than advertised—as in twice as big. James Giddens, the trustee overseeing the case, says the company now appears to be short $1.2 billion in client funds—or twice the roughly $600 million previously believed, the Wall Street Journal reports. What’s more, Giddens says that even hitting the goal of paying customers back 60% of their money would cost up to $1.6 billion, or “virtually all of the assets under the trustee’s control.”

Giddens says he’s working “around the clock” to find and recover more MF Global funds, but that the effort has been complicated by assets parked overseas. So far, he has handed out the $1.5 billion the firm was holding in collateral, and another $520 million in cash in accordance with a bankruptcy court filing, leaving him just $1.6 billion on hand. (More MF Global stories.)