Police have taken into custody the trader blamed for a €4.9 billion fraud at French bank Societe Generale, a judicial source said this afternoon.
A man, whom French media are identifying as Societe Generale employee Jerome Kerviel who is alleged to be at the heart of an alleged €4.9 billion trading fraud.
The source said Jerome Kerviel (31) was being held for questioning. Under French law, suspects can be held for an initial 24-hour period before any charges are pressed, but this can be extended.
Kerviel has not been seen publicly since SocGen stunned the financial world on Thursday when it unveiled the record trading loss.
Police searched Mr Kerviel's Paris apartment and SocGen headquarters yesterday as part of the investigation into accusations that the youthful trader made illicit speculative bets on stock markets which he then tried to hide.
SocGen has lodged a complaint with police based on three main charges - fraudulent falsification of bank records, fraudulent use of such records and computer fraud. The three charges carry maximum prison terms of between 2 and 5 years.
Mr Kerviel was taken to a police station in Paris at around 2pm (1pm Irish time). The young trader has not been seen in public since SocGen stunned the financial world on Thursday when it unveiled the record trading loss.