Double Heartbreak That 'Drove Rogue Trader to Pounds 3.6bn Fraud'

Jan 26, 06:04 PM

THE French trader who blew billions in catastrophic stock market gambles began his reckless dealings after a succession of personal tragedies, it was revealed yesterday.

Jerome Kerviel, 31, was devastated by the unexpected death of his father a year ago and then, while still grieving, his wife of two years walked out on him.

The heartbreaks sparked a chain of events allegedly culminating in the world's largest fraud, with losses of Pounds 3.6billion for the French bank Societe Generale.

There was still no sign yesterday of Paris-based Kerviel, who could face 15 years in jail.

Last night four detectives broke into his flat in the upmarket suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine to gather evidence.

Neighbours in the village of Pont L'Abbe in Brittany, where Kerviel grew up with his mother Marie-Jose, a hairdresser, father Charles, a builder, and brother Olivier, told of a life in disarray.

Yvette Lepine said: 'His father died less than a year ago and about the same time his woman dropped him. He thought they had a future together but it's all gone wrong for him. The two things happening at the same time must be why this happened.

'It's a great tragedy, I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose and I'm sure he tried to make it right.' Thierry Mavic, the mayor of Pont L'Abbe, said Kerviel is a 'decent young man' and the allegations would be 'totally out of character'.

Kerviel has not been seen since his deception became public two days ago.But his lawyer Elisabeth Meyer said he was preparing to give himself up.

She described her client as 'highly strung and extremely intelligent' and insisted he was not on the run and was aware he had 'nowhere to hide'.

Investigating judges and police are expected to interview him at the earliest opportunity.

Societe Generale has accused Kerviel of falsifying records and computer fraud to boost his income, which was a relatively modest Pounds 75,000..

(c) 2008 Daily Mail; London (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved. Double Heartbreak That 'Drove Rogue Trader to Pounds 3.6bn Fraud'
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