A man talks on the phone inside the office complex where MF Global Holdings Ltd have an office on 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan New York
A man talks on the phone inside the complex where MF Global Holdings Ltd. has an office in New York on Oct. 31, the day when the brokerage filed for protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. REUTERS

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh was appointed trustee in the MF Global Holdings Ltd. bankruptcy case on Friday, days after he was hired to lead an independent probe into a sex-abuse scandal at Pennsylvania State University.

Freeh, also a former judge, was appointed by the United States trustee for the region, according to a court document. The move is subject to court approval.

MF Global filed for bankruptcy protection on Oct. 31, after $6.3 billion in risky bets on European sovereign debt spooked investors and an attempt to sell the firm failed.

U.S. regulators and Justice Department officials have been investigating the firm's sudden collapse and trying to locate around $1.2 billion in customer funds.

Former MF Global CEO Jon Corzine is expected to testify at a congressional hearing next month, a committee aide said Friday.

Freeh was FBI director from 1993 to 2001. Earlier this week, his risk management firm was hired to run a review into Penn State's handling of sex-abuse claims against a former football coach. His firm has also in recent months conducted a probe into cheating on the SAT academic exams.

(Reporting by Ben Berkowitz)

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