The firm, MF Global, said Corzine has resigned as chairman and chief executive and will decline a severance package worth $12.1 million, including cash and benefits.
MF Global filed for bankruptcy protection recently after its bets on European debt spooked investors and trading partners.
The company is under investigation by regulators and the FBI because hundreds of millions disappeared from customer accounts as it slid toward bankruptcy.
Corzine ran Goldman Sachs and was governor of New Jersey before joining MF Global.
He said in a statement that he feels “great sadness about what has transpired at MF Global and the impact it has had on the firm’s clients, employees and many others.”
He said he will assist the company and its board as they continue to sort out what happened in the firm’s final days.
Regulators say more than $600 million in client money is missing.
They say MF Global apparently moved the money out of client accounts as the company’s cash dried up.
Corzine said his resignation was voluntary, and called it “a difficult decision.”
MF Global says lead director Edward Goldberg, and President and Chief Operating Officer Bradley Abelow will continue in their current positions.
