(Full story)
By Lionel Laurent
PARIS, June 28 (Reuters) - Former Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel made a last-ditch plea to clear his name before a Paris court on Thursday, capping his month-long appeal of a three-year jail sentence for his role in France's biggest rogue-trading scandal.
Addressing the crowded, hot courtroom after his lawyer's closing arguments, Kerviel said his name had been dragged through the mud from the day SocGen revealed in 2008 it had lost 4.9 billion euros ($6.09 billion) unwinding his huge, risky bets.
"I've lost four years of my life," the 35-year-old former trader said in hushed tones. Dressed in a pink shirt and navy suit, he looked physically weak and had to leave the courtroom several times on account of the heat during Thursday's hearing.
Kerviel has never denied masking the huge 50-billion-euro positions that tore a hole through SocGen's balance sheet and reputation at the dawn of the financial crisis. However, he has always insisted his superiors knew what he was doing and reiterated on Thursday he had "never lied" to the court.
"I was part of a system gone mad," he told the presiding judge, and offered his apologies to SocGen's employees.
By Lionel Laurent
PARIS, June 28 (Reuters) - Former Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel made a last-ditch plea to clear his name before a Paris court on Thursday, capping his month-long appeal of a three-year jail sentence for his role in France's biggest rogue-trading scandal.
Addressing the crowded, hot courtroom after his lawyer's closing arguments, Kerviel said his name had been dragged through the mud from the day SocGen revealed in 2008 it had lost 4.9 billion euros ($6.09 billion) unwinding his huge, risky bets.
"I've lost four years of my life," the 35-year-old former trader said in hushed tones. Dressed in a pink shirt and navy suit, he looked physically weak and had to leave the courtroom several times on account of the heat during Thursday's hearing.
Kerviel has never denied masking the huge 50-billion-euro positions that tore a hole through SocGen's balance sheet and reputation at the dawn of the financial crisis. However, he has always insisted his superiors knew what he was doing and reiterated on Thursday he had "never lied" to the court.
"I was part of a system gone mad," he told the presiding judge, and offered his apologies to SocGen's employees.
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