2008-02-10 Ex-Societe Generale Trade Alleged to Have Forged Emails

Not just any emails.

Mssr. Kerviel, the trader who seems to have overstepped his trading position limit authority by some orders of magnitude, is alleged to have forged email confirmations of some significantly sized trades to appear to have come from Deutsche Bank.

I'm shocked, shocked. Well, I am somewhat surprised that for a bank with (heretofore) much vaunted security, something as simple as forged emails involving significant asset impairment risk (such as, say, US 75 billion in impairment) was not subject to some immediate or contemporaneous due diligence.

For a country that is well known for its persnickety attitude in connection with the provenance of its wines and champagne (not sparkling wine, pardner) this may want the bank examiners to reach out for a glass --- of a California Cabernet.

Excerpts from the Business Section of the NY Times 2008-02-10

"Later that afternoon, Mr. Kerviel presented compliance officers with the Deutsche Bank e-mail message. But when Société Générale double-checked, Deutsche Bank would not acknowledge the trade...'[W]e think this is the forged document from Deutsche Bank,' the person said of the confirmation referred to in Mr. Bakir’s message to Mr. Kerviel."