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Socgen Saga Gets A Bit More Sordid

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by Mark Stein
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Apr 21 2008 12:00am EDT

SocGen Saga Gets a Bit More Sordid

And they say Americans are litigious?

Jerome Kerviel, the Société Générale trader whose actions have been blamed for nearly $7 billion in losses for the French bank, is being sued by his supervisor for "moral harm," according to a report by Le Figaro.

Kerviel has told investigators that the supervisor, Éric Cordelle, was aware of at least some of his unauthorized trades. Kerviel, through his lawyers, of course, holds open the option of filing his own lawsuit against SG, accusing it of improper dismissal.

Cordelle's civil lawsuit — which French prosecutors want thrown out — may be an attempt to save his own job. But by his legal reasoning, ousted chiefs of struggling banks and mortgage companies across the land could sue subordinates for harm inflicted by their companies' risky loans and complex derivatives.

Note to M. Cordelle and any would-be victims: Le buck stops here.

by Amy Cortese

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