President Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee returned more than $70,000 in contributions from former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, according to reports.

Corzine has been under fire and was subpoenaed to testify before congressional committees after the financial firm he headed collapsed, and Republicans have used the controversy to criticize Democrats and their call for stronger financial regulations.

MF Global has filed for bankruptcy, and questions remain about $1.2 billion in unaccounted-for funds and concerns that loans were improperly made using customer accounts.

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The Associated Press reports that the campaign and DNC returned $35,800 in contributions from Corzine and his wife, Sharon Elghanayan.

A Democratic party official said they would review contributions from MF Global employees on a case-by-case basis, the report said.

The controversy over the bankruptcy of MF Global is a stunning turn for the former New Jersey senator and governor.

Corzine was a top fundraising bundler for Obama and it was hoped he would play a role in improving relations between business leaders and the administration. He was also viewed by many as a possible successor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner earlier this year.

Republicans have used Corzine's troubles to push back on financial regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Dodd-Frank reforms they say hamper businesses and don't prevent financial fraud.

They have also used the controversy to hit Democrats who have accepted money from Corzine. After his testimony before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Dec. 15, the National Republican Senatorial Committee called on Sen. Debbie Stabenow Deborah (Debbie) Ann StabenowSunday Shows: Trump's court pick dominates Booker says he will ask Amy Coney Barrett if she will recuse herself from presidential election-related cases Schumer says Trump tweet shows court pick meant to kill off ObamaCare MORE (D-Mich.) to return campaign contributions she received from him.

Corzine though has denied knowledge of how funds went missing and has denied that transactions were made improperly. He has apologized for the firm's bankruptcy and said he hopes the funds would be recovered in testimony before lawmakers.