A French court has ordered that jailed rogue trader Jerome Kerviel be released on probation, on condition he wear an electronic bracelet, his lawyer David Koubbi announced Thursday.
Kerviel, who is serving a three-year sentence for unauthorized trades that cost Societe Generale 4.9 billion euros (6.4 billion dollars), will be released from jail on Monday, Koubbi told reporters at the Palace of Justice in Paris.
The 37-year-old former banker was jailed in May after losing all his appeals against his 2010 conviction for fraud.
After exhausting the appeals process Kerviel asked for his sentence to be reduced to a non-custodial punishment.
The taciturn Brittany native is a divisive figure in France.
To some, he is a symbol of the rampant speculation that triggered the global financial crisis of 2008-09.
To others, he is the lowly fall guy for an immoral banking system.
Kerviel claims his bosses at Societe Generale knew what he was doing when he rang up 50 billion euros in unauthorized trades in 2008 but that they turned a blind eye as long as he was making them money. He is the only person to have been charged in the affair.
In March, he won a partial victory after a court overturned a ruling that he repay the entire amount of the 4.9 billion euros he lost the bank.
A new civil case will be held to decide on damages.
GNA
PDC
