Deutsche Welle, 17 May 2014
Convicted
rogue trader Jerome Kerviel, walking back to France to begin his jail term, has
stopped on the Italian border. He wants immunity for witnesses who may appear
in court on his behalf.
Convicted
trader Jerome Kerviel, facing a three-year prison term on his return to France,
announced Saturday that he would be staying in Italy for the time being. French
authorities had given him until Sunday to present himself at Menton police
station to begin his sentence.
The
37-year-old was judged to be solely responsible six years ago for having run up
50 billion euros (68 billion dollars) in unauthorized trades which led to an
eventual 4.9 billion euros in trading losses at his former bank Societe
Generale. The losses brought the French bank to the brink of bankruptcy.
In court
Kerviel admitted exceeding trading limits, faking documents, and entering false
data into computers but said his bosses must have known what he was doing.
Kerviel
said on Saturday he would not cross into France until he had received a
response to his request for French President Francois Hollande to grant
immunity to potential witnesses who could testify in his favor in connection
with the bank's near collapse.
"I
will wait for Francois Hollande's response on the Italian side," Kerviel
said just meters from the French-Italian border near the Riviera town of
Menton. "If they want to come and get me, let them come."
Walk of
shame
An appeal ruling in March upheld his jail term but scrapped an order for Kerviel to
return the money he was judged to have lost. The court said that there would be
a civil case to decide on a new figure.
Last
January as he was waiting for the results of his appeals, he was helped by a
prominent French bishop, Monsignor Jean-Michel di Falco Léandri and went to
Rome for a public audience with Pope Francis.
Inspired by
the encounter, and the Pope's attack last year on capitalism's "idolatry
of money," Kerviel decided to walk the 1,400 kilometers home, promoting
the Pope's message of a flawed financial system. It was this walk which brought
him to the border on the French Riviera on Saturday.
jm/slk (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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Rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel ends standoff with French justice
French rogue trader heads for jail as court rejects appeal
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