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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Court orders rogue trader release | Court orders rogue trader release |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A French court has ordered that the former Societe Generale trader accused of losing billions of euros be released from custody. | A French court has ordered that the former Societe Generale trader accused of losing billions of euros be released from custody. |
| Jerome Kerviel has been held in prison since 8 February, as the investigation into the 5bn euros ($7bn; £3.5bn) lost at his former employer continues. | Jerome Kerviel has been held in prison since 8 February, as the investigation into the 5bn euros ($7bn; £3.5bn) lost at his former employer continues. |
| Societe Generale says that he used inside knowledge to cover up trades. | Societe Generale says that he used inside knowledge to cover up trades. |
| But an internal report criticised the bank's oversight of traders, saying that some procedures were lax. | |
| Strict conditions | |
| Societe Generale announced the trading losses in late January. Shortly afterwards, Mr Kerviel turned himself into police. | |
| Prosecutors accused him of breach of trust, fabricating documents and illegally accessing computers. | Prosecutors accused him of breach of trust, fabricating documents and illegally accessing computers. |
| Last month, they won a court order to have Mr Kerviel jailed, arguing that he might undermine the investigation by talking to others caught up in the probe. | |
| A court on Tuesday reversed that ruling, but strict conditions remain on Mr Kerviel's freedom. | |
| He is not allowed to be active in the financial markets or leave the Paris region without permission. | |
| He cannot meet anyone connected with the investigation and has to present himself weekly at a police station. | |
| Internal investigation | |
| SocGen's internal investigation concluded that Mr Kerviel had started making unauthorised trades in 2005, initially for small amounts. | |
| But by the time SocGen uncovered the trades in January, the trading position had hit 49bn euros. | |
| SocGen was forced to reverse those trades in unfavourable market conditions, resulting in huge losses. | |
| The report also said that Mr Kerviel acted alone. |