Convicted French trader fights damages

Convicted French trader Jerome Kerviel is returning to court to fight the billions he was ordered to pay his former employer Societe Generale in damages.

Jerome Kerviel, convicted of the trading fraud that nearly brought down French bank Societe Generale, is back in civil court to fight the 4.9 billion euros ($A7.74 billion) in damages he was ordered to pay for his ex-employer's losses.

Kerviel's lawyers argued that his managers knew about his three years' worth of questionable financial operations, which netted the bank 1.4 billion euros in 2007 before the scandal erupted in January 2008.

Societe Generale says Kerviel used computer and financial skills and fake documents to conceal his unauthorised trading. But France's highest court annulled the damages, saying the bank shared responsibility.

The civil trial beginning on Wednesday determines the new amount he must pay.

Kerviel has cast himself as a symbol and victim of a finance system gone adrift.


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Source: AAP



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