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| Rogue trader 'in police custody' | Rogue trader 'in police custody' |
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| The trader thought to have cost one of France's biggest banks 4.9bn euros ($7.1bn; £3.7bn) is in police custody, say reports quoting judicial sources. | The trader thought to have cost one of France's biggest banks 4.9bn euros ($7.1bn; £3.7bn) is in police custody, say reports quoting judicial sources. |
| Jerome Kerviel is being held for questioning about the alleged fraud at the French bank, Societe Generale. | |
| The 31-year-old trader had not been seen since the financial scandal broke on Thursday. His family and lawyer have insisted he is innocent. | |
| On Friday police searched Mr Kerviel's flat in an upmarket Paris district. | |
| They took away a number of briefcases from Mr Kerviel's flat. | |
| Police also visited the headquarters of Societe Generale, where they were given documents and computer disks relating to the alleged fraud. | |
| Mr Kerviel arrived at the headquarters of the financial police on Saturday at 1400 (1300 GMT), where he was set to be questioned, the judicial sources said. | |
| He may be held for 24 hours without charge, with a possible extension if granted by a judge. | |
| 'Absurd' | |
| French prosecutors are conducting a preliminary investigation based on a complaint from the bank, and on two complaints from small shareholders in the bank, reported Associated Press. | |
| It is difficult...to imagine how one person alone could, in a relatively short period of time, cause such considerable losses Francois Fillon, French Prime Minister Did one man cause market mayhem? | |
| Mr Kerviel was responsible for betting on the markets' future performance. | |
| Though Societe Generale has yet to officially name Mr Kerviel, it has filed a legal complaint against the trader, accusing him of defrauding the bank by making unauthorised financial trades. | |
| The bank says it discovered the fraud last weekend and began to offload the trader's losing bets on Monday - when world markets fell heavily. | |
| In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, bank chairman Daniel Bouton called allegations that the bank had triggered the falls "absurd". | |
| He defended the bank's handling of the scandal, and insisted it would withstand the losses. | |
| Scepticism | |
| As the recriminations continue, both Societe Generale shareholders, analysts and the French government have questioned how the rogue trader was able to operate alone. | |
| SOCIETE GENERALE IN FIGURES Founded in 1864467bn euros in assets under management (as of June 2007)22.5m customers worldwide120,000 employees in 77 countries Societe Generale share price | |
| "It is difficult... to imagine how one person alone could, in a relatively short period of time, cause such considerable losses," said French Prime Minister Francois Fillon. | |
| "They are saying all of this was cunningly concealed, but somebody must have been funding the collateral or whatever was needed to sustain those positions," said Derek Chambers at Standard & Poor's Equity Research. | |
| In an additional twist, the bank has said Mr Kerviel might not have personally benefited from his alleged fraudulent transactions. | |
| The French government has expressed anger that Societe Generale did not inform it immediately after the losses were discovered. | |
| French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the events at Societe Generale a "large-scale internal fraud", but added that the losses "do not affect the solidity and reliability of the French system". | |
| Societe Generale said the fraud was based on simple transactions, but concealed by "sophisticated and varied techniques". |