IMF chief Christine Lagarde ordered to stand trial over Tapie affair
The 60-year-old leader will go before a special tribunal over the long-running row over the sale of sports gear giant Adidas in the 1990s
IMF chief Christine Lagarde was ordered on Friday to stand trial in France over a massive state payout to a controversial tycoon when she was French economy minister, dealing a setback to her stellar career.
France’s highest appeals court dismissed Lagarde’s challenge against the decision to try her for negligence in her handling of a dispute between a state-owned bank and businessman Bernard Tapie.
Tapie walked away with a staggering €404 million(US$445 million) in compensation in 2008 after Lagarde ordered the long-running row over the sale of sports gear giant Adidas to be resolved by arbitration.
I’ve always acted in accordance with the law, and I’ve always had in mind the public interest
Friday’s ruling means the 60-year-old IMF chief will go before a special tribunal that hears cases against government ministers accused of wrongdoing in the discharge of their duties.
The ruling is a blow to the IMF boss, who insists she acted in France’s best interests in the case.
She will be the third successive head of the Washington-based lender to face trial.
Her predecessor, compatriot Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was acquitted of pimping by a French court last year, four years after he resigned his IMF post to fight separate sexual assault allegations.