By Xinhua
Washington : US Federal prosecutors in New York are trying to find out whether there is any “US element” to the Société Générale SA trading scandal, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
The report published Wednesday quoted a person close to the French bank as saying that prosecutors are trying to learn whether employee Jerome Kerviel, who has been blamed for the $7.27 billion trading scandal, traded on a US index or whether any transaction ran through a US broker. The bank has said it is cooperating with authorities.
A spokesman for the US attorney’s office in New York declined to comment. A lawyer for Kerviel has said that his client acknowledges engaging in risky trades, but his employer was aware of his actions, according to the report.
Earlier this week it was reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating sales of stock by Société Générale board member and American investor Robert A. Day and two foundations associated with him. It was also reported that federal prosecutors in Brooklyn were investigating, but what they were probing wasn’t clear.
Société Générale Jan 24 announced a $7.18 billion loss in the trading scandal.