A French court has ruled
that the head of International Monetary Fund, IMF, Christine Lagarde must face
trial over her role in handling a long running fraude case in 2007.
Lagarde is accused of
intervening in a court dispute between French tycoon Bernard Tapie and the bank
Credit Lyonnais in 2007, when she served as finance minister under President
Nicolas Sarkozy.
Tapie, a Sarkozy supporter,
sued the French state in 1993 after selling a stake in sports company Adidas to
French bank Credit Lyonnais. The bank was owned by the state at the time.
He says Credit Lyonnais
defrauded him when it resold the stake at a far higher price, a claim the
defunct bank has denied.
Lagarde has not been accused
of profiting personally from the Tapie case, which has been moving through the
French court system for years. The issue is whether she gave him preferential
treatment.
She has denied any
wrongdoing.
"I regret that the
court was not favorable to Mrs. Lagarde," said Patrick Maisonneuve,
Lagarde's lawyer . He said he was convinced the trial will show Lagarde is
innocent.
Lagarde will stand the trial
in front of a special court called the Court of Justice of the Republic. The
court deals with actions carried out by public officials while they are in
office. It is composed of members of parliament and magistrates.
While serving as finance
minister in 2007, Lagarde decided that the case should be arbitrated by a
special panel of judges rather than a traditional jury.
Prosecutors believe that
Lagarde, who was granted a second term as IMF chief in February, was negligent
in dealing with the case. She was placed under formal investigation in August
2014. The offense carries maximum one year prison sentence and a €15,000 ($16,500)
fine.
The IMF said that it would
not comment on a case that is currently before the French judiciary.
"However, the Executive Board has been briefed on recent developments
related to this matter, and continues to express its confidence in the Managing
Director's ability to effectively carry out her duties," said Gerry Rice,
the IMF director of communications.
Credit:CNN
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