However, the firm did not immediately receive payment from its clearing firm and lender, JP Morgan, one of the sources reportedly said.

The collapse of MF Global, and disputes over what has happened to client money, is yet another example of the problems that have come to hit investors, some of them very wealthy, amid the financial turmoil of recent years.

The sale of securities to Goldman occurred on 27 October, a few days before MF Global Holdings filed for bankruptcy on 31 October, the ex-employees said. One of the employees said the transaction was cleared with JP Morgan, the news service reported.

At the same time that MF Global, which was run by former Goldman Sachs head Jon Corzine, was selling securities to Goldman to raise badly needed cash, the futures firm was also drawing down a $1.2 billion revolving line of credit it had with JP Morgan, according to one of the former MF Global employees.

JP Morgan said the bank did not withhold money because of the line of credit. A spokesperson for the US bank declined further comment.

JP Morgan has fought aggressively in bankruptcy court to protect its interests, and received a lien on some of MF Global's assets in exchange for granting the firm $8 million to fund its bankruptcy costs. The lien puts JP Morgan's interests ahead of those of MF Global customers who have not yet received an estimated $900 million worth of money from their accounts, which remain frozen as regulators search for missing funds, the report added.