Kerviel hoped rogue deals would make his name
Rogue trader Jerome Kerviel carried out his massive fraud in an attempt to become a star worker, a French prosecutor said today.
Jean-Claude Marin asked a Paris court for preliminary charges of forgery, breach of trust and fraud to be filed against Kerviel.
He said the 31-year-old did not seek personal profit but wanted to be seen as “an exceptional trader” at the Societe Generale bank where he lost €4.9bn.
"The investigation shows very clearly at the moment that Monsieur Kerviel acted alone and the investigation has not demonstrated any complicity,'' Mr Marin said.
Kerviel, who has been in police custody since Saturday, fully co-operated with investigator and admitted “a certain number of acts,” he added.
“It’s always a bit for money, I’m not sure that was his prime motive,” said the prosecutor. “It functions a bit like a drug, it’s an addiction, ... there’s a sort of spiral you can’t get out of.”
Mr Marin was speaking as police wrapped up nearly 48 hours of questioning Kerviel and a judge was deciding whether to proceed with preliminary charges.
Under French law, filing preliminary charges means the judge has determined there is strong evidence to suggest involvement in a crime. It gives the investigator time to pursue the probe before deciding whether to send the suspect for trial or drop the case.
The prosecutor said Kerviel could face a maximum seven years imprisonment if convicted under the charges he was seeking.
Elisabeth Meyer, one of Kerviel’s defence lawyers, said he was “bearing up to the shock.”
She disputed Societe Generale claims that he had committed fraud, saying he was in the black with his trades up to December 31 last year.
“In my view, he was thrown to the lions before being able to explain himself,” she said. “It’s a lynching.”
