Alex Brandon/Associated PressLouis J. Freeh, the former director of the F.B.I., was asked to become the trustee for MF Global as it seeks to unwind itself in bankruptcy court.Louis J. Freeh, the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was asked on Friday to become the trustee for MF Global as it seeks to unwind itself in bankruptcy court.
The choice of Mr. Freeh, 61, comes as MF Global faces inquiries by several government agencies, including the F.B.I., into its demise. Investigators are still searching for hundreds of millions of dollars in missing client funds, which by one estimate now totals $1.2 billion.
And earlier this week, a Congressional panel called upon Jon S. Corzine, MF Global’s former chief executive, and other senior officials to testify about the firm’s final days.
In his role as trustee, which still is subject to court approval, Mr. Freeh would coordinate with investigators and would push for a speedy payout to the firm’s creditors, according to documents filed in Federal Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.
Should he be approved, Mr. Freeh would formally take charge of MF Global’s holding company, relieving the firm’s board.
His work is separate from that of James W. Giddens, who was appointed as the trustee of MF Global’s main American brokerage unit and is responsible for liquidating that business and returning funds to customers. MF Global subsidiaries in other countries are under the control of separate officials.
But Mr. Freeh would be asked to coordinate with those other trustees to return assets to the holding company, so that they could be sold to pay off creditors.
Mr. Freeh’s legal services are in high demand these days. Earlier this week, he was asked to oversee Pennsylvania State University‘s investigation into the sexual abuse scandal centering on the former assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky.
He was also hired by the College Board to review security measures for the SAT in light of the arrest of seven Long Island teenagers on suspicion of cheating on the exams.
Mr. Freeh, who served as the F.B.I.’s director from 1993 to 2001, leads Freeh Group International Services, a consulting firm.
Appointment of Louis Freeh as MF Global’s Bankruptcy Trustee