SocGen trader Jerome Kerviel jailed
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Former Societe General trader Jerome Kerviel has been sentenced to a minimum of three years in prison for his role in the trading scandal at the bank.
Kerviel has also been ordered to repay the French bank a total of 4.9bn euros.
The 33-year-old was found guilty of breach of trust, computer abuse and forgery. The judges deemed that Kerviel had not been given “tacit authorisation” from his bosses to speculate excessively and that the banks own failings did not absolve him of his duties as a professional trader.
Kerviel took unauthorised positions of up to 50bn euros in 2008.
The judges said that Kerviel knew exactly what he was doing when he overstepped his trading remit and decided to hide his trading positions.
Presiding judge Dominique Pauthe said that Kerviel “knowingly went beyond his remit as a trader”. Kerviel has been ordered to spend three years in prison, with a further two suspended. The public prosecutor recommended he spend at least four years behind bars.
Kerviel’s lawyer said the decision was “senseless” and that the prison sentence was “extraordinary”. Kerviel maintained during the trial that his superiors knew about the actions he was taking.
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