Rogue trader Kerviel loses appeal against five-year prison term
A French appeals court has upheld the five-year prison sentence on rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel and insisted that he must pay the 4.9-million-euro fine imposed in 2010. A lawyer for the man who nearly brought the Société Générale to its knees called the decision a “lamentable injustice”.
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The five-year sentence included two years suspended and the court did not order Keirvel
"We have fiercely defended Jérôme Kerviel and I can say that despite numerous new elements that the defense brought forth, nothing could change the court’s decision. We were committed to defending Mr Kerviel against an absolutely deplorable injustice. But we have failed.
to begin his sentence right away. The court also confirmed that he must pay back the billions he lost on uncovered bets on financial markets, although the bank has said it will not force him to pay it all.
His lawyer, David Koubbi, said he might appeal to a higher court, describing the verdict as a “deplorable injustice”.
Kerviel changed his lawyer in March, hiring Koubbi, who represented writer Tristane Banon when she sued former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn for rape before dropping charges earlier this month.
Koubbi launched two countersuits against the bank, accusing it of manipulating secret recordings to cover up his superior’s knowledge of his actions and of recovering a third of the money Kerviel was ordered to repay through a tax write-off.
The bank has hit back with two suits for malicious falsehood.
In 2010 Kerviel was convicted of breach of trust, forgery and entering false data into computers.
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