Second French bank suspect freed

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/7236765.stm

Version 0 of 1.

A second man being questioned after the massive losses at French bank Societe Generale has been freed without charge.

The man, who works for a subsidiary of the bank but has not been named, had been under questioning since Thursday.

The main focus of the probe, trader Jerome Kerviel, was placed in provisional detention on Friday as investigators continue their work.

Mr Kerviel's alleged activities cost Societe Generale nearly 4.9bn euros ($7bn; £3.7bn).

The bank has said he bet 50bn euros - more than the market value of the entire bank - on futures trading.

Key suspect Jerome Kerviel is now being held in custody

A court on Friday ruled that Mr Kerviel should be detained because of the "necessities of the investigation" and the risk that he could flee the country.

The second man in custody was being questioned about possible links with Mr Kerviel, but has not been charged with anything, officials say.

"He has left; he's free; he was not presented with preliminary charges," Isabelle Montagne of the Paris prosecutors' office told the Associated Press news agency.

The man is believed to work for Fimat, which used to be a division of Societe Generale, but recently merged with another brokerage owned by French bank Credit Agricole and was renamed Newedge.

A report in French newspaper Le Monde said Mr Kerviel had conducted some of his trading through Fimat and that police were investigating whether the brokerage employee may have been aware of his activities.

Mr Kerviel is under investigation for breach of trust, computer abuse and falsification.