A principal at KL Financial, the US hedge fund accused of a $115m (€87m) fraud, has agreed to cooperate with investigators in return for access to funds needed for an operation to save his daughter's eyesight.

A Florida civil court granted the principal, John Kim, access to the funds on the first day of a civil case hearing brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to Gary Klein, an attorney representing clients of the fund. The SEC alleges 250 investors have been defrauded of $115m since 1999.