French rogue trader's computer seized 01/02/2008 00:00

French police seize personal computer belonging to rogue trader Jerome Kerviel during a search of his brother's apartment

   PARIS, February 1, 2008 - French police have seized a personal computer
belonging to rogue trader Jerome Kerviel during a search of his brother's
apartment, a judicial official said Thursday.
   Police raided Olivier Kerviel's Paris apartment on Wednesday as part of a
probe into the trading scandal at Societe Generale that cost the bank 4.8
billion euros (7.1 billion dollars) in losses.
   Kerviel, 31, has been charged with falsifying documents and unauthorised
computer access but was released on Monday pending the outcome of the
investigation.
   The junior trader has told investigators during questioning over the
weekend that his bosses must have been aware of his dealings because of the
profits he was generating.
   Kerviel had been an employee at Societe Generale since 2000 when he joined
the investment banking department, first as part of the support staff in the
middle and back offices.
   He moved up to the front office in 2005 and it is there that he began
trading futures on European share indices, effectively betting on the future
direction of the stock markets.
   Societe Generale said that the trader had held positions worth about 50
billion euros when he was caught -- a figure well in excess of the bank's
market value of 35.9 billion euros.

AFP