Kerviel aide under investigation in rogue trade case
The assistant of Jerome Kerviel, the junior trader blamed for a record trading scandal at Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has been placed under investigation for complicity, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Monday.
“In accordance with the wishes of the prosecutor’s office, he has been placed under investigation for complicity in helping or assisting with the fraudulent entry of data into a computer system,” said a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office.
She added that the assistant was placed under investigation on Friday.
On January 24, French bank Societe Generale unveiled 4.9 billion euros ($7.6 billion) of losses which it said were caused by unauthorized deals carried out by Kerviel.
Kerviel was freed from prison in March after an appeal against his detention, but he remains under formal investigation for breach of trust, computer abuse and falsification.
The Kerviel affair is the world’s worst rogue trading scandal, eclipsing losses in previous scandals, such as Nick Leeson’s trades that toppled British merchant bank Barings in 1995 fast payday loan no faxing.
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Asked to comment on the investigation of Kerviel’s former assistant, Kerviel’s main lawyer Bernard Benaiem said: “It’s an element, but we were expecting it.”
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