Jérôme Kerviel, the rogue trader accused of losing almost €5 billion (£4 billion) at Société Générale, could be sued by his line manager for ruining his career.

Eric Cordelle, 36, has applied to become a civil plaintiff in the criminal case against Mr Kerviel, paving the way for a damages claim under French law.

Mr Cordelle is one of several managers at the French bank facing disciplinary procedures for failing to stop the rogue trader. According to Le Figaro, the French daily, he could be dismissed, bringing an end to a brilliant career that saw him appointed head of Mr Kerviel's desk last spring after a four-year stint in Tokyo.

Other managers may also seek to become civil plaintiffs if Mr Cordelle's claim is approved, according to a source in Paris.

Mr Cordelle, a graduate of the prestigious National School of Statistics and Economic Administration, claims that he was tricked by fake documents produced by Mr Kerviel to hide a series of unauthorised deals.

Maître Jean-René Farthouat, his lawyer, said that he had “suffered moral harm”, entitling him to become a party to the case against Mr Kerviel.

Mr Cordelle, who was head of the Delta One desk, where Mr Kerviel worked, would have access to legal documents compiled by the investigating magistrates in charge of the inquiry if his request was accepted.

The civil plaintiff procedure is available under French law to people who consider themselves to be victims of crime. They are represented by their own lawyer at the trial and can subsequently ask the judge or jury to award them damages if the defendant is found guilty.

Prosecutors oppose Mr Cordelle's application because they say he cannot reasonably claim to be among Mr Kerviel's victims.

The 31-year old junior trader has been placed under formal investigation on suspicion of breach of trust, fabricating documents and illegally accessing computers. He denies the allegations.

Mr Kerviel told judges that Mr Cordelle — and other SocGen managers — knew he was trading above the authorised limit but turned a blind eye to the operation as long as he was making a profit.

Mr Kerviel, who was €1.4 billion up at the end of last year, went on to claim that he was encouraged to exceed the official ceiling.

SocGen says that it discovered his activities only in January after he had hidden them from his managers through fake documents. When his positions were unwound, the loss was €4.9 billion, according to the bank.

But a report into the scandal commissioned by SocGen found that managers had failed to act despite 76 alerts over Mr Kerviel's trades during an 18-month period.

Last week the bank announced that Daniel Bouton would be stripped of the post of chief executive in the wake of the scandal.

Although Mr Bouton will stay on as chairman, he will lose the chief executive function, which is to be filled by Frédéric Oudéa, 44.

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