PARIS — The Paris appeals court on Wednesday ordered former Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel to spend three years in prison and pay back a staggering $7 billion in damages for one of the biggest trading frauds in history.
The 35-year-old Kerviel, who never profited personally from his unauthorized trades, says he was a scapegoat for the bank and a victim of a financial system that runs on greed and profits. He will appeal his case to the highest court.
‘‘I will continue to fight,’’ he said in an interview with RTL radio. ‘‘I think the judgment is protecting Societe Generale.’’
He called on those in the banking industry, notably Societe Generale employees, to step forward and speak up about how the bank’s managers knew about the trades....
You may end up dead, but....
The sentence — a five-year prison term, with two years suspended, plus the payback of all the losses he incurred — shocked many in the French public. After a global financial crisis that many blamed on big banks, many believed Kerviel’s claim that he was a victim of an unjust system....
Western ju$tice $y$tems are unju$t.
Kerviel had sought an acquittal, saying the bank had turned a blind eye to his exorbitant trades as long as they made money. Prosecutors and the bank say that isn’t true....
Well, you know who I'm believing there.
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Related: Bank Wins One in France
You may end up dead, but....
The sentence — a five-year prison term, with two years suspended, plus the payback of all the losses he incurred — shocked many in the French public. After a global financial crisis that many blamed on big banks, many believed Kerviel’s claim that he was a victim of an unjust system....
Western ju$tice $y$tems are unju$t.
Kerviel had sought an acquittal, saying the bank had turned a blind eye to his exorbitant trades as long as they made money. Prosecutors and the bank say that isn’t true....
Well, you know who I'm believing there.
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Related: Bank Wins One in France
"Societe Generale loss tops forecast" by David Jolly | New York Times, February 14, 2013
Well, win one, lose one.
PARIS — Societe Generale posted a larger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss Wednesday and said it would move to cut costs and simplify operations.
Somehow I feel karma was involved.
The bank reported a net loss of $640 million, compared with a profit of $135 million in the period a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected a net loss of about $319 million.
Profit was hurt by a charge of $922 million as the bank revalued its debt. The company also took a $511 million write-down of goodwill in its investment banking business, mostly on its Newedge Group joint venture with Credit Agricole.
Societe Generale also set aside $403 million as a provision against unexplained ‘‘litigation costs.’’
Like many of its global peers, the bank is under investigation by the authorities in a number of countries on suspicion that it conspired to manipulate the London interbank offered rate, or Libor. But bank officials declined to say whether that provision was specifically related to the investigation....
They were in on that, too, huh?
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And the le$$er the crime the more the time?
"Swindler of French aristocrats gets 8 years" Associated Press, November 14, 2012
PARIS — A man described as a modern-day Rasputin was convicted Tuesday of brainwashing three generations of an aristocratic French family for nearly a decade, swindling them of their fortune....
There are rumors of his death being a conspiracy and not the received wisdom we have all been given from on high, and it likely was. Who benefited? The one man who might have stopped Kaganovich and Yagoda?
Family members were so convinced of his story that they locked themselves inside their chateau for several years, terrified they would be killed.
There are rumors of his death being a conspiracy and not the received wisdom we have all been given from on high, and it likely was. Who benefited? The one man who might have stopped Kaganovich and Yagoda?
Family members were so convinced of his story that they locked themselves inside their chateau for several years, terrified they would be killed.
French media reported that the money was poured into a fake Canadian charity.
The French-born Tilly was convicted of arbitrary detention, using violence against vulnerable people, and abusing people weakened by ‘‘psychological subjection.’’
Governments and newspapers together again!
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I wish some other officials would step forward on confess:
"French officials ordered to undergo antisexism training" by Sylvie Corbet and Thomas Adamson | Associated Press, October 31, 2012
PARIS — First there was Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who allegedly referred to women as ‘‘material,’’ then catcalls in the French Parliament just because a female government minister wore a floral dress.
But when the French agriculture minister — in an interview this month about promoting gender equality — suggested that women couldn’t get their heads around technical jobs, that was too much.
The prime minister of France — a country that produced feminist icons such as Joan of Arc and Simone de Beauvoir — has decided that his ministers need to go back to school for antisexism classes....
It is simply the French passion for love!
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PARIS — First there was Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who allegedly referred to women as ‘‘material,’’ then catcalls in the French Parliament just because a female government minister wore a floral dress.
But when the French agriculture minister — in an interview this month about promoting gender equality — suggested that women couldn’t get their heads around technical jobs, that was too much.
The prime minister of France — a country that produced feminist icons such as Joan of Arc and Simone de Beauvoir — has decided that his ministers need to go back to school for antisexism classes....
It is simply the French passion for love!
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"French may drop Strauss-Kahn case" Associated Press, June 12, 2013
PARIS — French prosecutors are seeking to drop all charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former International Monetary Fund chief, in a case involving an alleged hotel prostitution ring.
This thing must reach even higher into the stratosphere of ruling elite.
The prosecutor’s office in the northern city of Lille, where the case is based, said Tuesday that there is not enough evidence to maintain charges of aggravated pimping against Strauss-Kahn.
A panel of judges will make the final decision in the case, which put Strauss-Kahn back in the spotlight after his arrest in New York in May 2011 based on allegations by a hotel maid that he had sexually assaulted her. He resigned as IMF chief before those charges were dropped.
A lawyer for Strauss-Kahn, Henri Leclerc, said Tuesday’s announcement shows the weakness of the current case against his client.
The decision by the prosecutor’s office followed a ‘‘deep and meticulous analysis’’ of the 33 files that form the case, a statement said.
Prosecutors are asking that a dozen other people go to trial in the case centered on an alleged prostitution ring working out of a hotel in Lille.
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Related: Sunday Globe Special: The Redemption and Resurrection of Dominique Strauss-Kahn
I think they meant reserection.
His successor can't get it up:
"IMF’s Lagarde faces questions from French officials" by Nicola Clark | New York Times, April 19, 2013
PARIS — A French court has ordered Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, to appear at a hearing next month connected to an investigation of her handling of a financial scandal when she was the French finance minister.
On Thursday, Lagarde’s lawyer confirmed the court summons, which was first reported late Wednesday by the news website Mediapart.
The investigation, which has included a police raid of Lagarde’s Paris apartment last month, concerns her decision in 2007 to refer to an arbitration panel a decades-old dispute between a wealthy friend of France’s president at the time, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais. The panel ultimately brokered a settlement that awarded the Sarkozy friend, Bernard Tapie, the flamboyant former owner of the Olympique Marseille soccer team, about $580 million, including interest.
The court’s summons of Lagarde could lead to the opening of a formal investigation of her role in the affair. But in France, being placed under formal investigation does not necessarily lead to charges and does not imply a presumption of guilt.
Lagarde has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
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"French police raid home of IMF head Lagarde" by Nicola Clark | New York Times, March 21, 2013
PARIS — The French police on Wednesday searched the Paris apartment of Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, in an investigation into her handling of a financial scandal when she was the French finance minister.
The investigation concerns Lagarde’s decision in 2007 to refer to an arbitration panel a dispute between Bernard Tapie, a French billionaire and supporter of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, and the state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais. The panel ultimately brokered a settlement that awarded Tapie about $580 million, including interest.
A panel is looking into whether she was complicit in embezzling public money in what critics say was an overly generous award to a presidential friend.
This is the same pos that said all the fraudulent debt foisted on us by criminal banks had to be repaid anyway?
Lagarde has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has expressed her willingness to cooperate with any inquiry.
Tapie had borrowed 1.6 billion French francs from Credit Lyonnais to buy the distressed Adidas sports empire in 1989.
Related: Game Over For Atari
But unable to keep up with the interest payments, Tapie converted his debt to the bank into shares of Adidas, which Credit Lyonnais later sold in 1993 for more than the value of the loan. Tapie accused the bank of cheating him.
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"IMF chief testifies about finance ministry role in arbitration case" by Edward Cody | The Washington Post, May 24, 2013
PARIS — Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, submitted to more than 12 hours of interrogation Thursday about her role in the settlement of a multimillion-dollar business dispute when she was France’s finance minister in 2008.
Did they waterboard her?
Lagarde was ordered to return Friday for more grilling by a trio of investigating magistrates at the Court of Justice of the Republic, a judicial panel that handles malfeasance cases in France.
The magistrates were querying Lagarde, 57, about her actions during a $520 million settlement granted by an arbitration board to the maverick French businessman Bernard Tapie. The payout ended a long and involved legal dispute between Tapie and the Credit Lyonnais as the bank was being liquidated.
At the end of the interrogation, Lagarde could be retained as a witness as the investigation proceeds or, if the magistrates deem they have credible evidence warranting such a step, they could cite her as a suspect in malfeasance.
I guess that means she will lose the job at the IMF.
This would raise the question of whether Lagarde could remain as head of the IMF, the Washington-based financial institution that plays a major role in the world economy, including anticorruption efforts in financially ailing countries.
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"French officials investigate UBS" Associated Press, June 04, 2013
PARIS — French authorities are formally investigating whether UBS France helped clients evade the country’s tax authorities, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Monday.
Spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said that the subsidiary of the Swiss bank is being investigated for complicity in illegal business dealings. Three executives at the French subsidiary are already under investigation.
UBS said it had been expecting this step as part of the ongoing investigation and is fully cooperating with French authorities. It denied any wrongdoing, saying it complies fully with French law.
France is one of many countries — all under pressure to scrounge up extra cash as they tighten their budgets — that is raising the pressure on tax evaders and avoiders. The European Union is leading a charge to crack down on accounts that hide money from governments, and the Group of 20 leading industrial and developing nations has pledged to rein in tax avoidance.
Switzerland’s banks, known for their secrecy, have long been suspected of being used to hide money from tax authorities. The Alpine country has been pressured in recent years, however, into negotiating some tax treaties with the United States, Germany, and others.
Related:
Swiss court delivers blow to US tax deal
Switzerland eases bank privacy law
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Also see: UBS unit fined by French regulators
