2008 Société Générale trading loss 2008 Société Générale trading loss In January 2008, the bank Société Générale lost approximately €4.9 billion closing out positions over three days of trading beginning January 21, 2008, a period in which the market was experiencing a large drop in equity indices. The bank states these positions were fraudulent transactions created by Jérôme Kerviel, a trader with the company. The police stated they lacked evidence to charge him with fraud and charged him with breach of trust and illegally accessing computers. Kerviel states his actions were known to his superiors and that the losses were caused by panic selling by
Criminal responsibility in French law Criminal responsibility in French law Criminal responsibility is the obligation in French law to answer for infractions committed and to suffer the punishment provided by the legislation that governs the infraction in question. In a democracy citizens have rights but also duties: with freedom comes responsibility. Unlike civil liability, the obligation to answer for damage one has caused, either by repairing it or paying damages and interest for it, criminal responsibility implies legal recourse for the state against a disturbance of the peace. This includes three major factors: The penal code declares that the authorship of a crime includes not