UPDATE 1-U.S. Trustee may appoint SemGroup examiner-Judge
(Updates with spokesman comment)
NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Justice Department's trustee program will appoint an examiner to investigate the circumstances surrounding bankrupt energy trader SemGroup LP's trading strategies and potential improper use of borrowed funds, according to court documents.
Judge Brendan Shannon at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware said in a Sept. 10 order that the U.S. Trustee, which monitors U.S. bankruptcy proceedings, should ask an examiner to look into an array of issues, including insider transactions and asset liquidation.
The U.S. Trustee asked the court in August to authorize an investigation of claims that fraudulent trading may have caused the multibillion-dollar collapse of the energy trader.
"SemGroup worked closely with the U.S. trustee in connection with its request to find an examiner, because we share the goal of understanding the events that led to the reorganization," SemGroup spokesman Lance Ignon said.
He added that the company will cooperate with the examiner and that its bankruptcy law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges had already begun its own investigation.
SemGroup filed for bankruptcy on July 22, citing more than $3.2 billion in losses on energy futures and derivatives trades.
SemGroup lender RZB Finance LLC has said in court documents that SemGroup's restructuring advisers at the Blackstone Group (BX.N) have admitted that improper trading caused the collapse.
Federal investigators are already looking into allegations that SemGroup's publicly traded subsidiary, SemGroup Energy Partners LP SGLP.O, did not properly disclose to investors its parent's liquidity troubles in mid-July.
A representative for SemGroup Energy Partners was not immediately available to comment. (Reporting by Chelsea Emery and Emily Chasan; Editing by Derek Caney and Andre Grenon)
