French rogue trader Kerviel convicted

The lawyer for former French bank trader Jerome Kerviel says he is appealing a Paris court's verdict sending Kerviel to prison for three years and ordering him to pay a staggering 4.9 billion euros ($6.86 billion)in damages.

Lawyer Olivier Metzner said his client is "disgusted." He said the court found bank Socit Gnrale SA "was responsible for nothing, not responsible for the creature that it had created."

"I have the feeling Jerome Kerviel is paying for an entire system," Metzner said.

French media calculated that based on his current salary of2,300 eurosa month as a computer consultant, it would take him 177,536 years to pay off the damages.

Kerviel was found guilty on charges of forgery, breach of trust and unauthorized computer use for covering up bets worth nearly $70 billion between late 2007 and early 2008.

The bank says Kerviel made bets of up to 50 billion eurosmore than the bank's total market value on futures contracts on three European equity indices, though his net position appeared unremarkable because he balanced his real trades with fictitious transactions.

There were audible gasps and surprised looks when presiding Judge Dominique Pauthe read out the damages to a packed courtroom of 150 reporters, court officials and members of the public.

Kervielmaintained that the bank tolerated his massive risk-taking as long as it made money.

While trading for the bank, Kerviel took home a salary and bonus of less than 100,000 eurosa relatively modest sum in the financial world.