White Collar Criminal: Jerome Kerviel Term Paper

For this reason, I remain convinced that the blame was in this case wrongly apportioned.

It is important to note that as Chrisafis points out, the trader was at some point "gambling with up to €50bn…" This in the opinion of the author was at the time larger than his (Kerviel's) employer's worth. If this is indeed the case, where were the bank's safeguards? How could a junior trader bypass such a major institution's safeguards without the knowledge of and perhaps the encouragement from senior managers? According to Reynolds, Societe Generale had on several occasions been warned of irregular dealings originating from Kerviel (70). The bank however chose to ignore the said alerts.

It should also be noted that Kerviel did not reap any personal benefit from the said trades (Chrisafis). Indeed, according to the trader's defense, at no time did Kerviel attempt to embezzle successful bets (Lichfield). This is an issue that should have been taken into consideration. The fact that Kerviel's bosses raked in significant bonuses from his trades should also have been taken into consideration. Next, it should also be noted that according to Kerviel, there were dozens of other traders who were also engaged in similar trades. Is it possible that the bank turned a blind eye to gapping irregularities as long as the perpetrators of the same raked in decent profits? In the final analysis, Kerviel should be seen as the fall guy for a rogue banking system largely concerned with profit maximization. Given the specifics of the case, acquittal should have been the only outcome.

Works Cited

Chrisafis, Angelique. "French Rogue Trader Loses Appeal Against Conviction and €4.9bn Fine." The Guardian. N.p., 24 October 2012. Web. 6 December 2012.

Clark, Nicola. "Bank Outlines How Trader Hid His Activities." The New York Times. N.p., 28 January 2008. Web. 5 December 2012.

Lichfield, John. "French Rogue Trader Jerome Kerviel Jailed for Three Years and Ordered to Repay €4.9 Billion (Which He'll Earn in 300,000 Years)." The Independent. N.p., 24 October 2012. Web. 6 December 2012.

Reuters. "Kerviel's Fine the Size of 20 Airbus A380s." Reuters. N.p., 5 October 2010. Web. 5 December…