Jean-Pierre Mustier, SocGen’s former head of investment banking and the man who called Jérôme Kerviel a liar, has been fined for insider trading by the French market regulator.
Background: Mustier quit SocGen in August 2009 after France’s Autorité des marchés financiers opened proceedings against him, subsequent to an investigation into allegations of délit d’initié .
At the time, SocGen issued the following statement:
In view of the ongoing AMF procedure, Jean Pierre Mustier has decided, in the interest of the group, to anticipate his departure and has tendered his resignation, which has been accepted
The AMF claimed that Mustier had access to inside information regarding SocGen’s exposure to and marks on subprime mortage-backed structured securities. Mustier’s sale of 6,000 SocGen shares in late 2007 was informed by that information, the regulator alleged.
Fast forward to June 2010, and the high-profile trial of the roguish Kerviel. Mustier, called to testify, lambasted his former underling, calling him a “liar” who engaged in “inhuman” risk taking:
I still don’t understand why Jerome Kerviel did it … and he has never said sorry…How can he say he did it for the good of Societe Generale, to earn it money? He is lying, like he has always lied.
And according to Reuters:
During the trial, a visibly emotional Mustier had told the court that the AMF probe would find him innocent, after lawyers brought it up.
Mere days later, the AMF slapped Mustier with a €100,000 fine. Mustier’s lawyer intends to appeal the fine, Reuters said.
To quote Kerviel’s lawyer, Olivier Metzner, “Who are you Société Générale? Who are you? How do you create men like this?”
(H/T Tony Tassell)
Related links:
SocGen: Mustier’s holiday reading spelled trouble – FT (2009)
SocGen’s Mustier on the irrational world of investor anxieties – FT Alphaville (2007)
‘Let’s remain confident!’ – The SocGen memo to staff – FT Alphaville (2008)