2.2 billion euro rebate investigation for Société Générale

• Jérôme Kerviel was sentenced to five years in prison, three of which were closed for causing fraud within Société Générale.
• In 2016, the Versailles Court of Appeal ordered him to pay € 1 million in damages to his former bank, which was claiming € 4.9 billion.
• Victim of this fraud, the bank benefited from a tax rebate of 2.2 billion euros. But judges today are interested in the legality of this measure.

This represents the equivalent of ten transfers from Neymar to PSG. From five Tapie cases. Or 118,000 Smic annuities. An investigating judge is currently investigating the tax rebate of 2.2 billion euros from which Société Générale benefited on the sidelines of the Kerviel case, we learned Tuesday evening, confirming information from  Le Monde .

Twelve years after the revelation of the scandal for which the former trader was convicted, judge Aude Buresi will try to verify whether the bank was entitled to benefit from this tax gift from the state. We take stock of this whole affair…

What is this investigation specifically about?

20 Minutes learned on Tuesday evening that judicial information for "misappropriation" had been opened in October 2019 on the tax rebate of 2.197 billion euros from which Société Générale benefited on the sidelines of the Kerviel affair. In criminal law, misappropriation means, for a person holding public authority, the fact of granting a tax exemption in an illegal manner. In other words, judge Aude Buresi will try to find out whether the State had the right to grant a tax gift to Société Générale.

Why did the bank benefit from this provision?

To fully understand this affair, we have to go back to 2008. At the time, Société Générale indicated that the risky positions taken by Jérôme Kerviel made him lose 4.9 billion euros. Relying on a judgment of the Council of State, the bank had obtained at the time the right to deduct from its taxes a little more than a third of the "exceptional losses" which it claims to have suffered, because of the actions from his former trader.

How would this tax rebate be illegal?

Originally, no one had anything wrong with this tax bonus. But in 2016, after a procedural battle, the Versailles Court of Appeal (Yvelines) ruled that Jérôme Kerviel was only "partially" responsible for the fraud. Relying on the shortcomings in matters of control, the court considered that Société Générale also had its share of responsibility in the fraud. And that changes everything. Indeed, the texts provide that the victim cannot benefit from the provision if he himself has failed to fulfill his obligations.

Who is behind this investigation?

The current fight is led by Julien Bayou, current national secretary of Europe - Ecologie Les Verts. At first, he had filed a complaint which was dismissed. As the law allows, he filed a second complaint with the creation of a civil party. In this case, the opening of judicial information and the appointment of a judge is automatic. This is why Justice Aude Buresi has been charged with addressing this issue. The Anticor association also brought a civil action in this case.

The @SocieteGenerale obtained a tax credit of 2.2 billion € because of the losses it suffered in #AffaireKerviel. However, the bank was found guilty of 99.98% of this #fraud so that it should not benefit from this credit. https://t.co/O404YbiRIN

Will the bank have to reimburse 2.2 billion to the state?

Contacted by 20 Minutes , the bank recalls that it is not targeted by this investigation for "concussion" and that as it stands, it does not comment. However, it indicates that it has not yet deducted from its results the famous dividend of 2.197 billion. "Such a situation will not occur for several years according to the bank's forecasts. In the event that the administration decides to [claim reimbursement of the sum], the bank will not fail to assert its rights before the competent courts. "

But then, who is really concerned by this investigation?

More than the bank as such, Julien Bayou's complaint mainly targets the Minister of the Economy and Finance and that of the Budget, who granted the dividend to the bank in 2008. In the present case, it concerned Christine Lagarde and Eric Woerth respectively.

But his fight also aims to claim accounts from all the ministers who succeeded them in Bercy and who did not claim the reimbursement of this tax gift when they had the means. Valérie Pécresse, Jérôme Cahuzac, Bernard Cazeneuve, Christian Eckert, Gérald Darmanin, Christine Lagarde, François Baroin, Pierre Moscovici, Michel Sapin, Arnaud Montebourg, Bruno Le Maire… It makes a lot of people. Without forgetting a certain Emmanuel Macron.

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VIDEO. Kerviel Affair: Understanding everything about Société Générale's 2.2 billion tax adjustment

• Bercy
• Taxes
• Kerviel trial
• Societe Generale
• Jérôme Kerviel
• Justice