Police have raided the apartment of the Societe Generale dealer at the heart of a seven-billion-dollar rogue trader scandal that the French bank's chairman described Saturday as an "accidental fire." Beside is a picture of Jerome Kerviel's Neuilly flat. Kerviel, 31, was being held for questioning after arriving in a police van at the headquarters of the Paris police's financial brigade around 2:00 pm (1300 GMT), said the source.He had dropped out of sight before the bank announced its colossal losses on Thursday, which slashed the bank's 2007 profit to 600-800 million euros from 5.2 billion in 2006An unmarked car and the van had left the financial brigade building an hour earlier, returning to its underground car park with Kerviel while a strong force of police kept back journalists.The detention came after police raided Kerviel's apartment on Friday in the wealthy Paris suburb of Neuilly sur Seine, taking away documents, and also took possession of computer files at the bank's Paris headquarters.
French prosecutors confirmed the raid on the apartment in the western Paris suburb of Neuilly of Jerome Kerviel, the 31-year-old blamed for amassing the losses which cost the banking giant 4.9 billion euros (7.15 billion dollars). Police officers also went Friday to the bank's Paris headquarters to seize Kerviel's computer files, the prosecutors said, adding that "some items useful to the inquiry" were handed over voluntarily.Kerviel's whereabouts were unknown, but his lawyer told AFP he was "not on the run." Neighbours said he had not been seen for weeks at the Neuilly flat, which some suggested he might have been sub-letting.
In an interview published Saturday in the daily Le Figaro, Societe Generale chairman Daniel Bouton denied that the bank's management had made any strategic errors which led to the scandal.
"What happened at Societe Generale is certainly not a disaster that resulted from our strategy. It is more like an accidental fire which destroys a large factory at an industrial plant," Bouton said.
He also rejected any suggestion that the bank had sought to hide the losses.
The French government on Friday demanded a full accounting of the scandal, which President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted had not affected the "solidity and reliability of France's financial system."
In an interview published Saturday in the daily Le Figaro, Societe Generale chairman Daniel Bouton denied that the bank's management had made any strategic errors which led to the scandal.
"What happened at Societe Generale is certainly not a disaster that resulted from our strategy. It is more like an accidental fire which destroys a large factory at an industrial plant," Bouton said.
He also rejected any suggestion that the bank had sought to hide the losses.
The French government on Friday demanded a full accounting of the scandal, which President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted had not affected the "solidity and reliability of France's financial system."
A top French presidential advisor revealed that Kerviel had held positions of more than 50 billion euros -- more than the bank's current market capitalisation of 35.9 billion euros.
"Questions will have to be asked about the internal controls of the banking systems," Raymond Soubie told French television, saying it was "amazing" the trader had not caught.
The head of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, called for tighter self-regulation by banks after the scandal.
"Questions will have to be asked about the internal controls of the banking systems," Raymond Soubie told French television, saying it was "amazing" the trader had not caught.
The head of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, called for tighter self-regulation by banks after the scandal.
Spiegel-Online, the website of German weekly Der Spiegel, said Kerviel negotiated 140,000 contracts "a few weeks ago" on the Eurex derivatives market, a Swiss affiliate of the German bourse.
With the DAX falling more than 600 points between the beginning of the year and January 18, Kievel would have probably lost some two billion euros (2.8 billion dollars), Spiegel-Online said, quoting experts.
It added that Societe Generale had been alerted to the enormous losses by German sources.
The scandal is a fresh blow to investor confidence as global banks reel from multi-billion dollar writedowns over the subprime crisis.
Bouton rejected as "absurd" US media suggestions that the trader may have helped push the US Federal Reserve into an unprecedented rate cut on Tuesday, deceived by Societe Generale's high-volume sales of tainted positions at the start of the week.
Described by work colleagues as a shy, hesitant character, Kerviel's resume depicts him as a judo and sailing fan who once ran for municipal office in his hometown of Pont l'Abbe in Brittany, western France.
His aunt, who lives in Pont-l'Abbe, told AFP that her nephew "must have been manipulated."
"They are an honest family, who have nothing to reproach themselves for. The young man has always been serious, reserved," Sylviane Le Goff said.
"In my opinion, it is his bosses and employers who should be looked into," she said, adding that her sister had gone to Paris on Thursday to try and "comfort" her son.
Many experts said it was difficult to believe a lone trader could have successfully hid such colossal losses.
Societe Generale announced at the same time as the fraud that it had lost about two billion dollars on its subprime exposure.
But the Bank of France governor said he was certain Societe Generale had not sought to disguise losses made in the subprime mortgage crisis.
I am sure in my opinion that more still is to be heard from this story, just keep in in touch.
With the DAX falling more than 600 points between the beginning of the year and January 18, Kievel would have probably lost some two billion euros (2.8 billion dollars), Spiegel-Online said, quoting experts.
It added that Societe Generale had been alerted to the enormous losses by German sources.
The scandal is a fresh blow to investor confidence as global banks reel from multi-billion dollar writedowns over the subprime crisis.
Bouton rejected as "absurd" US media suggestions that the trader may have helped push the US Federal Reserve into an unprecedented rate cut on Tuesday, deceived by Societe Generale's high-volume sales of tainted positions at the start of the week.
Described by work colleagues as a shy, hesitant character, Kerviel's resume depicts him as a judo and sailing fan who once ran for municipal office in his hometown of Pont l'Abbe in Brittany, western France.
His aunt, who lives in Pont-l'Abbe, told AFP that her nephew "must have been manipulated."
"They are an honest family, who have nothing to reproach themselves for. The young man has always been serious, reserved," Sylviane Le Goff said.
"In my opinion, it is his bosses and employers who should be looked into," she said, adding that her sister had gone to Paris on Thursday to try and "comfort" her son.
Many experts said it was difficult to believe a lone trader could have successfully hid such colossal losses.
Societe Generale announced at the same time as the fraud that it had lost about two billion dollars on its subprime exposure.
But the Bank of France governor said he was certain Societe Generale had not sought to disguise losses made in the subprime mortgage crisis.
I am sure in my opinion that more still is to be heard from this story, just keep in in touch.
No comments:
Post a Comment