The $593 million shortfall in client money at MF Global Holdings, the broker that filed for bankruptcy on October 31st, appears to result from a “massive hide-and-seek ploy”, according to Bart Chilton, a commissioner at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The agency said it was in the public interest to confirm the enforcement action.

“It’s a distinct possibility, some would say probability, that somebody has done something with the money, and that it’s not going to be ‘all of a sudden discovered’ with an innocent explanation,” Mr Chilton said. – (Bloomberg)