Rogue-trader Kerviel loses appeal

Jerome Kerviel, the man behind France’s biggest rogue trading scandal, has lost his appeal at a Paris court, which has upheld his jail term.

Kerviel was originally given five years, two of which were suspended, in 2010.

The former Societe Generale trader has also been ordered to repay the impossibly large sum of 4.9 billion euros that he lost in illicit positions on the financial markets.

The little known junior trader working in a grim Paris suburb became internationally known overnight as the financial crisis began to hit in 2008. It emerged he had taken positions worth 50 billion euros on the markets.

Kerviel never denied masking his actions, but has always claimed his bosses were complicit and that he has simply become a pawn of what he called the “rotten financial system.”

Testifying in 2009 former Societe Generale CEO, Daniel Bouton, denied Kerviel’s accusations and said the bank’s risk managers never stood a chance against his manipulations.

After the decision was announced his lawyers said they were considering the possibility of a higher appeal.

Copyright © 2013 euronews