The regulatory arm of CME Group has turned over interviews to the Justice Department that allege former MF Global chief Jon Corzine knew that the now-bankrupt brokerage firm used customer money to lend to a European affiliate, a CME Head Terrance Duffy told a Senate Panel on Tuesday. The information is fourth-hand but is the strongest statement yet from a regulator that Corzine may have personally known customer funds were diverted for firm use. Federal investigators are probing why hundreds of millions of dollars in customer funds are missing, and whether the futures brokerage raided customer money to try to counter a liquidity crisis, a major violation of industry rules. Corzine, who resigned as chief executive of MF Global early last month, has given sworn testimony that he does not know where the money is, but it is unclear if this latest revelation will legally harm him. CME Executive Chairman Terrence Duffy, testifying to the Senate Agriculture Committee, on Tuesday said a CME auditor participated in a phone call during which an MF Global employee indicated that Corzine knew of the loan.  During an internal CME interview, the auditor also revealed that the loan was for roughly $175 million to a European affiliate of MF Global and was likely made in the last couple of days prior to the firm's October 31 bankruptcy, Duffy said. “You raised a serious allegation about what Mr. Corzine may have known,” Senator Debbie Stabenow,  who is chairwoman of the committee, said to Mr. Duffy.  He did not dispute her statement. The confusion stemming from Mr. Duffy’s testimony comes as the exchange faces questions about its oversight of MF Global. The CME was charged with policing the firm, a job that some wronged MF Global customers say it failed to do. The Senate Agriculture Committee's hearing on Tuesday was the second to feature both Duffy and Corzine, among others, as lawmakers seek answers about the missing funds A spokesman for Mr. Corzine declined to comment.  A spokeswoman for the CME Group,  declined to elaborate later on Mr. Duffy’s statement.  [CNBC, 12/14/11, Dealbook 12/13/11]