Kerviel ordered to jail, second trader in custody
PARIS–A Paris court sent French trader Jér?me Kerviel behind bars yesterday, while the investigation into the billions in losses he allegedly caused for bank Société Générale took a new twist with a second employee taken into custody.
Investigators want to know whether Kerviel acted alone, and if so, how it was that a brokerage employee sent him a message before the scandal broke, saying: "You have done nothing illegal in terms of the law."
The bank, prosecutors and France’s finance minister have said Kerviel appeared to have acted without help when he made massive unauthorized bets on European futures markets that the bank said cost it more than $7 billion to unwind.
The 31-year-old futures trader was sent to La Santé jail outside Paris, said a judicial official who declined to be named.
The court was concerned that, if left free, Kerviel could jeopardize the investigation by contacting possible accomplices or exerting pressure on witnesses, the official said.
The revelation that a second employee was taken into custody on Thursday was a potentially big twist, and could add a new layer of complexity to the case if it turns out he was an accomplice http://payday-faxless.com. The brokerage employee was still being held last night.
The employee worked at Newedge, a 50-50 joint venture between Société Générale and Calyon bank, according to another official. Kerviel passed some of his trades through the brokerage, the official said. Investigators have searched Newedge’s Champs-Elysées office.
Among new evidence is a Nov. 30 message sent to Kerviel through the bank’s computer system by the broker now in custody. "You have done nothing illegal in terms of the law," the message said.
Investigating judges have filed preliminary charges against Kerviel for forgery, breach of trust and unauthorized computer activity.
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