Kerviel lawyer plans new defense of rogue trader

By Sudip Kar-Gupta and Thierry Leveque

PARIS (Reuters) - The new legal team for Jerome Kerviel, the banker blamed for a record rogue trading scandal, said on Wednesday it had a new defense strategy to put more pressure on Kerviel's former employer, Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Bernard Benaiem, Kerviel's new principal lawyer, said he would focus more on the role of Societe Generale, France's second-biggest listed bank, which posted record losses as a result of the Kerviel debacle.

On Jan 24, Societe Generale unveiled 4.9 billion euros ($7.7 billion) of losses that it said were caused by rogue deals carried out by Kerviel, then a 31-year-old junior trader.

The losses rocked world markets and eclipsed those of previous trading scandals, such as Nick Leeson's rogue trades that toppled British merchant bank Barings in 1995.

Following a court hearing on Wednesday, Benaiem told reporters his team had focused on a decision in July by France's Banking Commission to fine SocGen 4 million euros for serious breaches of internal controls over the Kerviel affair.

"This has allowed us to highlight a certain number of mechanisms that Kerviel has already criticized and which are today set in stone," he said.

Kerviel was freed from prison in March after an appeal against his detention, but he remains under formal investigation for breach of trust, computer abuse and falsification.

FACE TO FACE WITH SOCGEN EXEC  Continued...