[ISN] Kerviel Says He Hid Nothing From Societe Generale

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-08/kerviel-says-he-hid-nothing-from-societe-generale-update2-.html

By Heather Smith and Carol Matlack
Bloomberg
June 08, 2010

Jerome Kerviel, accused of causing a 4.9 billion-euro ($5.9 billion) 
loss at Societe Generale SA with unauthorized market bets, told a Paris 
court he "hid nothing" and that all of his actions were visible to his 
employer.

Kerviel, 33, answered questions from Judge Dominique Pauthe about his 
professional history on the first day of his trial today. He is charged 
with abuse of trust, faking documents and computer hacking related to 
the bank's losses and faces as many as five years in jail and 375,000 
euros in fines.

Kerviel and lawyer Olivier Metzner this month will battle prosecutors 
and Societe Generale, which is seeking to recoup the losses. The 
Paris-based bank disclosed the unauthorized bets on Jan. 24, 2008, with 
then-Chief Executive Officer Daniel Bouton calling Kerviel a 
"terrorist."

During questioning at today.s hearing, the former trader recounted his 
education, saying he was "interested in finance" when asked why he 
focused on market operations, including financial controls, in his 
master's program. He described his salary and bonus history, telling the 
judge he knew "strictly nothing" about decisions, such as the one 
awarding him a bonus of 60,000 euros in 2006.

[...]


_________________________________________________________________
Attend Black Hat USA 2010, hosted at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada
July 24-29th, offering over 60 training sessions and 11 tracks of Briefings
from security industry elite. To sign up visit http://www.blackhat.com