WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) ? A US Federal bankruptcy judge has granted troubled commodity brokerage Refco Inc. partial approval to pay a group of employees up to $4.1 million in bonuses and severance, but the agreement does not cover employees of Refco Capital Markets, a Bermuda-based unit.

US Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain on Friday signed off on Refco's bid to pay 24 employees the incentive bonuses. And Drain held off on approving bonuses for 14 employees of Refco's scandal-ridden offshore unit Refco Capital Markets Ltd.

Under the second part of a three-part incentive plan, Refco had sought court permission to pay up to $3.2 million to 38 employees who have decided to stay with the company as it winds down operations over the next year. The company also sought to dish out nearly $900,000 in severance payments.

But a group of Refco's noteholders had objected to the bonuses payment, saying they're alarmed by costs racked up by the company's "ever-expanding army of professionals".

Drain discounted the noteholders' objection but said he would consider, at an April 19 hearing, objections from Refco Capital Markets' Chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee or the brokerage's unsecured-creditors committee.

A Chapter 11 trustee was named last month to take control of Refco Capital Markets daily operations and oversee its liquidation. If there are no objections, Drain said he'd approve the bonuses for RCM employees.

Refco Capital Markets, an unregulated broker-dealer based in Bermuda, has drawn more lawsuits than any other Refco unit.

The offshore unit's customers began fleeing soon after Refco disclosed last year that its former chief executive, Phillip Bennett, had hidden hundreds of millions in bad debt. To halt the exodus, RCM barred customers from withdrawing their funds.

Separately, Drain approved the sale of Refco's stake in its Hong Kong subsidiary for about $9.1 million to a unit of agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland.

Refco tried to include Refco Hong Kong in a global sale of its assets. But the purchaser of most of those assets, Man Financial Inc. of the UK, wasn't interested.

The brokerage said the sale price is the best the company can get after Hong Kong authorities had threatened to liquidate the unit. Refco once was the largest independent commodity broker in the US.

It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last October after the scandal over allegations that Bennett had hidden hid $430 million in bad debt.

Since then, the company has sold its flagship business to Man Financial and is in the process of winding down its remaining operations.

A federal grand jury and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating allegations of wrongdoing by the company.

Bennett stepped down from Refco in January and is awaiting trial on securities fraud. Bennett faces up to 20 years in prison. He has denied any wrongdoing.