French MPs call for review of rogue trader Kerviel's case

A cross-party group of six French politicians have called on Justice Minister Christiane Taubira to reopen the case of rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel following new testimony from the head of the inquiry indicating that his employer, the Société Générale bank, probably knew of his activities.

New evidence bears out Jérôme Kerviel's claim that Société Générale knew if his risk-taking, the politcians argue Reuters/Philippe Wojazer/ Benoit Tessier

At a joint press conference the politicians - Socialist Yann Galut, Georges Fenech of the right-wing UMP, maverick right-winger Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, Greens Eric Alauzet and Eva Joly and Communist Eric Bocquet - announced that they would address a letter to Taubira asking for Kerviel's trial to be reviewed.

They also promised to urge their respective parties to call for a parliamentary inquiry into the conduct of the case, why only one person was convicted and if the legal system has been manipulated.

The trader, who has always claimed that his employer knew he was making high-risk trades, has already started a procedure to have his five-year prison sentence revoked.

The police officer who headed the investigation, Nathalie Le Roy, told a new legal inquiry this April that new evidence had convinced her that Société Générale could not have been unaware of Kerviel's activity.

This "new element" justifies the call for a review, the politicians said on Wednesday.

They are also calling on the finance ministry to demand the repayment of a 1.7-billion-euro tax deduction granted to the company to compensate for the losses caused by Kerviel.