Corzine Faces Lifetime Trading Ban

It might be payback time for Jon Corzine.

The former US senator, New Jersey governor and Goldman Sachs CEO might be banned from futures trading in the wake of the suspicious meltdown of MF Global in 2011.

Two new directors of the National Futures Association will push today for a review of Corzine's activities while he was head of MF Global. As you may recall, Corzine's firm improperly used $1.6 billion in client cash to cover bad bets right before it filed for bankruptcy. If the NFA approves this measure, they will hold hearings on Corzine and potential punishments, including never being able to trade futures ever again.

[Check out Advanced Trading's MF Global coverage during its meltdown and collapse.]

According to the Wall Street Journal this is personal:

The push for sanctions against Mr. Corzine is being led by John Roe and James Koutoulas, two Chicago-based futures executives whose clients did business with MF Global, some of whom have yet to recoup all of their funds from the collapsed firm. They won election to the NFA board last month on a platform pushing overhaul of a sector battered by the demise of MF Global and the accounting scandal that emerged last year at Peregrine Financial Group Inc., another futures brokerage.

Mr. Roe said in an interview that Mr. Corzine should face consequences for MF Global's failure to properly protect investors' money.

"If, at the end of this, there's no criminal consequence, no regulatory consequence, no monetary consequence, we've sent a bad signal to futures markets," said Mr. Roe.

A lifetime ban would be the ultimate setback for the former Wall Street Titan. He has been reportedly interested in starting a hedge fund and not being able to trade would hinder his ability to raise capital. Instead of returning to the scene of his debacle/crime/momentary lapse in judgement, perhaps Corzine should continue his philanthropy endeavors.

Sometimes a trader has to know when to walk away from the terminal.

[When traders go rogue -- Advanced Trading uncovers the danger lurking on your trading floor.]

Phil Albinus is the former editor-in-chief of Advanced Trading. He has nearly two decades of journalism experience and has been covering financial technology and regulation for nine years. Before joining Advanced Trading, he served as editor of Waters, a monthly trade journal ... View Full Bio