Accountants could shed new light on Kerviel's case

Jérôme Kerviel, the Société Générale trader accused for the bank's record trading
loss in January, met yesterday with Ernst & Young and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu to find out about alerts they may have sent to the bank.

The meeting centered around what the auditors knew and told the bank about its
exposure to what became €50bn (£40bn) in unauthorised futures positions which cost Société Générale's €4.9bn, the International Herald Tribune reports.

The bank's claims it was unaware of Kerviel's activities were 'a smoke screen',
Bernard Benaiem, one of Kerviel's lawyers, said before the meeting at the offices of
judges leading the investigation. 'E-mail exchanges from their auditors kept them
aware that the trades didn't exist,' he said.

Kerviel's lawyers also planned to inquire about the French banking commission's
findings in the case. The commission fined Société Générale €4m in July for failing
to comply with rules on internal controls. Kerviel's legal team has just gained
access to the report, which was not made public.

Further Reading:

Read the International Herald Tribune story