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MF Global: Corzine denies knowledge of transfer

Former MF Global CEO Jon Corzine today denied he had any knowledge of a transfer of customer money to a European affiliate, but faith in the self-regulatory system under which the futures industry operates appears to be diminishing.

“I did not instruct anyone to lend customer funds to MF Global or any of its affiliates,” Corzine told the House Financial Services Committee, Newsday reported.

Bart Chilton, CFTC
Bart Chilton
But Reuters reported Wednesday that regulators see the need for a better system of auditing and enforcement to prevent similar crises in the future.

“I think we’ve gone too far in allowing the exchanges to be so self-regulatory that it’s obfuscated the need for the cop to be on the beat all the time,” said Bart Chilton, a Democratic commissioner on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Dan Roth, president of the National Futures Association, said “we should be able to identify certain frailties of the current structure that will need to be addressed.”