French prosecutor wants rogue trader Kerviel to serve five years in prison
28 Jun 2012
France's prosecutors are demanding that Jérôme Kerviel serve five years in prison as an ''example and a deterrent'', turning down the former banker's appeal against his 2010 conviction for huge losses he caused at Société Générale on uncovered trades.
Kerviel was sentenced to a three-year jail term, with two further years suspended, and ordered to pay damages of €4.9 billion, matching the cost to the bank of unwinding the €50 billion of trading bets he made in three futures markets in 2008.
However, Dominique Gaillardot, leading the state's case against Kerviel's appeal, told the court today that the ex-trader should spend five years in prison for his deeds, and described him as ''perverse and a manipulator''.
On Monday, SocGen's lawyers called for the confirmation of the original award of damages against Kerviel, who had remained at liberty pending his appeal.
Kerviel, who did not profit personally from his trades, admitted during his first trial that he had faked documents to disguise his trades, repeating his insistence that his superiors had all along known what he was doing.
He further claimed that he was the victim of a cover-up plot by the bank's top management.
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