Rogue trader: I got carried away

Rogue trader Jerome Kerviel broke his silence today over the alleged fraud that saw French bank Societe Generale lose €4.95bn, stating that he had got “a bit carried away”.

Speaking to Agence France Presse (AFP), the 31-year-old said he had not been driven by “personal ambition” adding that the aim of the unauthorised transactions was to make more money for his employers.

Mr Kerviel said he accepted his share of the responsibility for the losses but added that he would “not be made a scapegoat for Societe Generale”.

The former futures traders is accused of gambling away billions of euros on the future direction of stock markets in a series of secret transactions.

Attempts by Societe Generale to unravel the deals were blamed in part for the turmoil that hit markets worldwide in mid January.

In an interview with AFP at his lawyer’s office in Paris, Mr Kerviel said: “I was designated (as solely responsible) by Societe Generale. I accept my share of responsibility but I will not be made a scapegoat for Societe Generale.”

He added that he had “yet to fully grasp” the implications of the affair, which he said was down to wanting to make more money for the bank.

Mr Kerviel said: “You lose your sense of the sums involved when you are in this kind of work. It’s disembodied. You get a bit carried away.”

He told the news agency that he was currently staying with friends in the French capital.

But he denied that he had been placed under round-the-clock protection or that he was “psychologically unstable”.

After the transactions came to light, Mr Kerviel was arrested and charged with breach of trust, forgery and unauthorised computer activity.