Rogue trader fights £850k fine over £4.2bn scandal

A ROGUE trader who lost billions in one of the biggest trading scandals in history is to continue his legal fight after a court slashed the damages bill he must pay.

Frenchman Jerome Kerviel was jailed for three years in 2010 after racking up a record loss of £4.2bn at Societe Generale.

He was also ordered to pay back the losses – but a court yesterday cut the amount owed to £865,000.

The court said that while Kerviel was partly responsible for the loss, ‘multiple faults’ at the bank meant it ‘had a major and decisive role’ in allowing the losses.

Leaving court, Kerviel, 39, vowed: ‘The struggle continues. I still believe I owe nothing to Societe Generale.’

Kerviel says his behaviour was widespread and bosses were happy to turn a blind eye so long as his trades made money.

In June he won an unfair dismissal claim and £350,000 in damages from Societe Generale, including a £234,000 bonus for his work in 2007.