|
By Laton McCartney
Commentary: When Jerome Kerviel, the Societe Generale rogue trader, was first under investigation after being apprehended for taking $70 billion in bogus trading positions, he met Jean-Raymond Lemaire, founder of Lemaire Consultants & Associates (LCA), a computer consultancy based outside Paris.
Lemaire had been brought in to consult on the case by Kerviel's lead attorney, Elisabeth Meyer. Now, as prosecutors continue to investigate his role in the world's biggest-ever trading scandal, Kerviel has started working at Lemaire Consultants, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
advertisement
On the LCA Web page, Lemaire is described as providing expert assistance in IT since 1986. He is listed as one of the technology experts at the Court of Appeal of Versailles and also acts as a mediator. His firm's clients include BNP Paribas, France's largest bank; Ernst & Young; AXA, the insurance giant; and Brinks, the security services and transportation company.
So why was Kerviel, who is still under investigation, hired? Surely, not for his computer skills. In a February interview with the French Magazine Paris Match, Lemaire described Kevil as, "not an IT prodigy."
And since is bared going anywhere near a trading floor or have a job related to market operations while the investigation continues, he can't be of much help to LCA clients like BNP Paribas. Perhaps he was brought on board to provide assistance in the risk management area, a subject in which he is certainly well versed, CIOZone e-mailed Raymond Lemaire to determine if that was the case, but in all candor a response is unlikely.
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
