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Jerome Kerviel refuses to be `made a scapegoat'

The dealer blamed for a US$7 billion rogue trader loss at French bank Societe Generale said on Tuesday that he had got "a bit carried away," but refused to be made a scapegoat for the scandal.

"I was designated [as solely responsible] by Societe Generale. I accept my share of responsibility but I will not be made a scapegoat for Societe Generale," Jerome Kerviel said in an interview with AFP.

Kerviel said he "never thought of running away" from the law after the bank blamed him for causing losses of 4.8 billion euros (US$7.1 billion), eventually revealed to the public on Jan. 24.

Kerviel was charged last week with breach of trust, using false documents and unauthorized computer access, although judges did not approve the more serious charge of fraud.

"I never had any personal ambition in this affair. The aim was to earn money for the bank," he said. "You lose your sense of the sums involved when you are in this kind of work. It's disembodied. You get a bit carried away."

Kerviel said he had "yet to fully grasp" the implications of the affair.
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