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Subject:

U.S. billionaire convicted in France

Author:
holy pockets

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Date Posted: 21:52:25 12/20/02 Fri

U.S. billionaire convicted in France
Associated Press

PARIS -- American billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros was convicted of insider trading Friday and fined $2.2 million by a French court. Soros said he was "astounded and dismayed" and vowed to appeal.

The 72-year-old Soros denied having inside information about a pending takeover attempt of French bank Societe Generale when he traded its shares 14 years ago.

"The charges against me are unfounded and without merit," Soros said in a statement. He was not in court for the verdict.

The judgment said Soros had inside knowledge of the takeover bid because the financiers behind it asked him to participate. Soros declined, but bought 160,000 bank shares for his Quantum Fund and gained $2.28 million from their sale in 1988, the court said.

The fine levied Friday was the minimum allowed under French law and mirrored the amount he made from the Societe Generale transaction. Soros could have faced up to two years in prison and a fine of up to four times the amount earned.

The court cleared two other men of insider trading charges: Jean-Charles Naouri, former top aide to France's then-finance minister, and Lebanese businessman Samir Traboulsi.

Soros, a naturalized American born in Hungary, amassed a fortune and a reputation as a wizard by managing investment funds. Forbes magazine estimates his wealth at $6.9 billion, making him the 37th-richest person in the world.

But his dealings also have drawn criticism.

When Asian economies tanked in the late 1990s, some politicians blamed Soros' currency speculation for the crisis.

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