[ by Melanie Gretchen ] MF Global's customer money has been traced, after it disappeared from the brokerage firm around the time of its bankruptcy 10/31/11, people briefed on the investigation said.  While hundreds of millions of dollars have been traced to banks, MF Global’s trading partners and the firm’s securities customers, investigators continue to be uncertain as to whether they can retrieve the money. Investigation Findings. Recipients entitled to payouts from MF Global could make retrieving money difficult, even though securities customers withdrawing their money during the firm's collapse were paid from futures clients' accounts, according to other people briefed on the matter. Nevertheless, the CFTC, leading the investigation, will look into whether anyone accepted customer cash without veryifying its source. These people discussed the case on the condition of anonymity.  Publicly, investigators have not publicly disclosed specific progress, which they fear would cripple efforts to recover the cash and pursue potential wrongdoing. Who's to Blame. With the question of what happened to the money answered, the next issue at hand is how to recover it and who is at fault.  To date, 1 challenge has emerged in clashes between the 3 parties in the mix: 3 federal agencies and 2 bankruptcy trustees. One conflict has been over emails sent by MF Global, which have been withheld from federal authorities, according to the people briefed on the matter.  Investigators believe that these communications, sent right before the firm's collapse, offer clues about who transferred the money from protected customer accounts. The Players. James Giddens, the trustee overseeing the liquidation of the brokerage unit, has been charged with returning money to wronged customers.  Louis Freeh, the trustee overseeing the liquidation of the firm, who is seeking to recover money for MF Global’s creditors.  Mr. Freeh's lawyers have not shared several internal MF Global emails with Mr. Giddens and federal investigators, including the CFTC, which has asked for access to the documents, the people briefed on the investigation said.  For his part, Mr. Giddens has not readily handed over account statements that Mr. Freeh, a former FBI director, needs to conduct his court-ordered investigation and determine what creditors are owed. Mr. Freeh’s reluctance stems in part from the fact that the lawyers working on his behalf have not made their way through the mountain of e-mail, people involved in the case said.  The lawyers are loath to waive attorney-client privilege, which shields the documents from outsiders, until they have completed their review. The Key. In the end, Mr. Giddens was was the collector of the final claims on Tuesday, the last day customers were permitted to file forms outlining what they are still owed.  To date, 60 lawyers and 100 consultants from Deloitte, and 60 forensic accounts from Ernst & Young have been hired to sort through some $327 million in wire transfers in and out of MF collapse a month before its collapse. As his search continues to find the money, his team is quietly urging some recipients to return it.  We wish him well. For more details, go to [Dealbook, 1/31/12].