French court rejects rogue trader Kerviel's appeal

Paris appeal court upheld on Wednesday rogue trader Jerome Kerviel's three-year jail sentence and massive fine for his role in France's biggest-ever rogue trading scandal. The trader was convicted of "breach of trust, use of forgery and fraudulent introduction of data into a computer system." Due to lack of new evidence, the court upheld a 2010 sentence of five year in prison, including two suspended and confirmed that he had to compensate the 4.9-billion-euro damage (6.34 billion U.S. dollars), including interest, to French bank Societe Generale (SocGen). "I noted that despite many new elements that have been made by the defense, nothing had been able to change the court's decision," Kerviel's lawyer David Koubbi was quoted by BFMTV as saying. Denouncing "lamentable injustice," the defense lawyer said he was considering further appeal. Kerviel was found having been bypassing SocGen's control systems to start building up unauthorized trading positions in 2005 and 2006 for "small amounts," which gradually grew bigger. Between late 2007 and early 2008, his bet had increased to near 50 billion euros and finally left an irreversible 4.9-billion-euro gap with fictive transactions, bringing SocGen, one of the biggest European banks, to the brim of bankruptcy. (1 euro = 1.30 U.S. dollars)