"I simply do not know where the money is"

The Washington Post says Jon Corzine is “devastated” by the effect the collapse of MF Global has had on its investors.

“I truly apologize to all of those affected,” he said, after being sworn in to testify before the House Committee on Agriculture. … He said he was “stunned” to learn shortly before the firm sought bankruptcy protection at the end of October that MF Global could not account for the money.

Everyone is baffled. “The FBI, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and other authorities are investigating and have had difficulty figuring out what happened to the missing funds.” However a story from Reuters says the story is simple. Corzine transferred the clients assets to another London where he could legally bet the money — a bet he lost — and now it’s gone. Poof. Voila!

More like, c’est la vie.

“I simply do not know where the money is, or why the accounts have not been reconciled to date,” the former MF Global chief executive said, according to the testimony. …

The journey to the witness table was a dramatic turnabout for New Jersey Democrat Corzine, who made a fortune at the helm of the investment bank Goldman Sachs and then parlayed his wealth into a career in politics….

As the hearing got underway, Rep. Collin C. Peterson (D-Minn.), the panel’s ranking Democrat, said it was “pretty amazing that we’re in this situation.” …

The firm was losing money when he [Corzine] stepped in last year and helped chart a new strategy to make it less reliant on declining revenue sources such as commissions on clients’ trades, Corzine said. Corzine said he strongly advocated investing in the debt of European governments — Belgium, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Portugal.

What could go wrong?

Below, Jon Corzine appears to testify and presents the very picture of contrition, sympathy and caring.