MOSCOW, October 25 - RAPSI. The Paris Court of Appeals upheld on Wednesday the conviction of rogue trader Jerome Kerviel, formerly of Societe Generale, on counts of breach of trust, fraudulent entry into an automated processing system, forgery, and use thereof, according to a statement issued by the bank shortly after the verdict was handed down.

According to AFP, in upholding the conviction the appellate court confirmed the five-year prison sentence and the 4.9 billion Euro fine Kerviel had sought to have overturned. Two of the five years sentenced were suspended.

Societe Generale’s statement lauds the verdict, proclaiming, “The ruling of the Paris Court of Appeals confirms the guilt of Jérôme Kerviel in the massive fraud of which the bank and its employees were victims, in line with the findings of all legal proceedings conducted up to this point, and clearly establishes that his fraudulent activities were committed without the bank's knowledge.”

Kerviel was hired in 2000 as an assistant trader for Societe Generale. In 2005, he was promoted to the position of trader, and assigned to the Delta One Listed Products desk. Office policy dictated against the Delta One desk taking any risks totaling in excess of 125 million Euros. Kerviel failed to adhere to the policy, once going so far as to “take totally exorbitant extraday positions in 2008 that reached 49 billion [Euros],” according to investigative materials uploaded to Societe Generale’s website.

Kerviel is quoted in the materials as admitting, “Often, in the morning… I received, as did my bosses, notification of major exposures in some of my portfolios. I then entered a fictitious transaction without informing my bosses to conceal these open positions.”

Kerviel initially cast himself as a scapegoat, claiming as his 2008 investigation wrapped that his superiors had covered his transactions for years. Still, the number of lies and half-truths that surfaced when investigators combed through his email transactions, paired with the fact that he had admittedly failed to speak directly with his superiors about key transactions militated against him in this regard.

The breach of trust charge is based on Kerviel’s taking of extraday positions in contravention of the Delta One 125 million Euro cap. The fraudulent entry of data into an automated system charge is based on the fictitious entries Kerviel made in order to cover his tracks. The forgery and use thereof charges are based on Kerviel’s fabrication of false emails.