Former SocGen trader in court

Former Société Générale junior trader Jerome Kerviel (centre) arrives with lawyers Francis Tissot (left) and Caroline Wassermann at court in Paris yesterday. Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters

JEROME KERVIEL, blamed by French bank Société Générale for the trading scandal that cost it billions of euro, appeared at a court hearing in Paris yesterday along with his former aide, Thomas Mougard.

SocGen unveiled losses of €4.9 billion last January, which it said were caused by unauthorised deals conducted by Mr Kerviel, who was a junior trader at the bank at the time. Mr Kerviel is under formal investigation for breach of trust, computer abuse and falsification, while Mr Mougard is under investigation for complicity in the affair.

The former SocGen supervisors of Mr Mougard and Mr Kerviel were also at yesterday's hearing.

Mr Kerviel has admitted building up non-authorised trading positions, but says his supervisors must have been aware of what he was doing. He declined to comment to reporters as he entered the court, but his lawyers said the hearing "went well" for their client.

Mr Kerviel's lawyers aim to turn the focus of the investigation on SocGen's handling of the situation. "What we want to know is, was there complacency, was there complicity?" said Bernard Benaiem, his main lawyer.

Mr Mougard avoided speaking to reporters. His lawyer, Frederique Baulieu, could not be immediately reached for comment, but she has denied any wrongdoing on Mr Mougard's part. - ( Reuters )

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times