Bank HQ searched in rogue trader fraud probe

French police searched the headquarters of banking giant Societe Generale as part of a probe into massive fraud blamed on a single rogue trader, a bank official said today.

Financial police conducted the search last night, said spokeswoman Stephanie Carson-Parker. She gave no other details.

Police also searched the apartment of Jerome Kerviel, accused of fraud costing the bank €4.9bn.

Paris prosecutors are conducting a preliminary investigation based on three complaints – one by the bank accusing the 31-year-old trader of fraud, and two by small shareholders.

Kerviel’s whereabouts are unknown, though his lawyer says he is not on the run.

France’s second-largest bank unsettled an already shaky banking sector in announcing the fraud – which appeared to be the biggest-ever trading fraud pinned on a single person – on Thursday.