Paris appeals court to decide fate of convicted trader who covered up tens of billions in bets

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FILE - In this June, 4 2012 file photo, French trader Jerome Kerviel arrives at the Paris courthouse. The Paris appeals court on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012, ordered Kerviel, a former Societe Generale trader, to spend three years in prison and pay back a staggering Ä4.9 billion (about billion) in damages for one of the biggest trading frauds in history. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, File)

PARIS – Former trader Jerome Kerviel will soon learn whether he must go to jail for covering up billions of dollars in losses while working as a trader for a top French bank — and reimburse the €4.9 billion (about $7 billion) it took to unwind his deals.

The Paris appeals court gives its verdict Wednesday, deciding whether Kerviel was a fraudster or the victim of a greedy system as he claims.

The 35-year-old Kerviel was sentenced to three years in prison in October 2010, and ordered to reimburse Societe Generale for its loss. The prosecution wants a five-year term, calling him a “perverse manipulator.”

Kerviel, seeking an acquittal, claims the bank turned a blind eye to his exorbitant trades in late 2007 and early 2008 as long as they made money.

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