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French 'rogue trader' Kerviel's legal rollercoaster

A French appeal court on Friday ordered "rogue trader" Jerome Kerviel to pay one million euros ($1.2 million) to his former employer, Societe Generale, one of France's top three banks. It was just the latest step in an eight-year saga in which Societe Generale pulled itself back from the brink of bankruptcy and Kerviel spent nearly five months behind bars after his trades cost the bank 4.9 billion euros. Following is a recap of the story so far: - 2008 - January 24: Societe Generale claims it is a victim of "fraud" to the tune of 4.9 billion euros at the hands of Kerviel, then aged 31. It suspends the trader and files a complaint accusing him of "hiding his positions on 50 billion euros through an elaborate construction of fake transactions." January 28: Kerviel is charged with breach of trust, forgery and entering false data but prosecutors stop short of charging him with attempted fraud, a decision that his lawyers hail as a "victory". February 8: Kerviel is taken into custody and held until March 18. July 4: France's banking commission fines Societe Generale 4 million euros for "serious deficiences in its internal control system". - 2010 - October 5: Convicted for breach of trust, forgery and entering false data, Kerviel is sentenced to five years in prison, with two years suspended, and ordered to pay Societe Generale 4.9 billion euros in damages and interest. - 2012 - October 24: The conviction is upheld on appeal. - 2014 - March 19: The court of cassation upholds the criminal conviction but cancels the 4.9 billion euros that Kerviel had been ordered to pay back, referring the issue of damages to another court for a fresh decision. April 22: Kerviel lodges a complaint against Societe Generale for interfering with a witness. He says his immediate superior Eric Cordelle was bribed one million euros to testify in the bank's favour. May 19: Kerviel begins a three-year prison term, but is released on September 8. - 2016 - January 17: In a bombshell revelation, Nathalie Le Roy, a top detective in the case, presented recordings of a former deputy prosecutor, Chantal de Leiris, saying it was "obvious" that the bank was aware of Kerviel's shady dealings. Three days later, De Leiris denied being manipulated by the bank. June 7: France's labour relations court orders Societe Generale to pay 455,000 euros to Kerviel for unfair dismissal. June 17: The Versailles appeals court rules that Societe Generale should not receive any compensation because of its own mistakes. July 1: Finance Minister Michel Sapin states that if the appeals court finds responsibility on the part of the bank, the state will review its decision to provide 2.2 billion euros in compensation to the bank as a victim of fraud. September 23: The Versailles appeals court orders Kerviel to pay one million euros to Societe Generale.