After a 10 month long investigation into the disappearance of over $1 billion at MF Global, the Justice Department will likely not charge top executives with wrongdoing, sources say.
Although authorities have yet to interview former CEO Jon Corzine, two rounds of interviews with former MF Global employees and a review of thousands of documents have yielded little basis for criminal charges.
Even if Corzine and other executives are not charged in criminal court, they are far from in the clear. MF Global bankruptcy trustee James Giddens joined customer lawsuits against Corzine yesterday, and regulatory agencies including the CFTC are still considering civil enforcement actions that could result in a large fine or Wall Street ban.
Additionally, prosecutors’ failure to bring charges will contribute to the widespread perception that financial executives are rarely punished for their wrongdoing.