imf chief lagarde on trial in france over tycoon case
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

In a case that risks tarnishing her stellar career

IMF chief Lagarde on trial in France over tycoon case

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today IMF chief Lagarde on trial in France over tycoon case

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde
Paris - Arab Today

IMF chief Christine Lagarde goes on trial in France on Monday over a massive state payout to a flamboyant tycoon when she was finance minister in a case that risks tarnishing her stellar career.

Lagarde denies the charges of negligence, arguing she was acting "in the state's interest" in making the payment to Bernard Tapie, the former owner of sportswear giant Adidas and the Olympique Marseille football club.

If found guilty, Lagarde could receive a one-year prison sentence and a 15,000 euro ($15,900) fine.

Whatever the outcome, the case risks damaging the image of 60-year-old Lagarde, a former corporate lawyer who progressed through the finance ministry to her current role as one of the world's most powerful women.

The case also threatens the credibility of the International Monetary Fund, as Lagarde is the third IMF chief to face trial.

The IMF has given its full backing to Lagarde, who was named to a second term in February this year, over the case.

She will be tried by the Court of Justice of the Republic, a tribunal that hears cases against ministers accused of wrongdoing in the discharge of their duties.

In a documentary aired on French television late Sunday, Lagarde said she was "confident and determined" ahead of the trial.

"I tried to do my work the best I could within the limits of what I knew," she told France 2.

"Negligence is an unintentional offence. I think all of us have been a little bit negligent at some stage of our lives," added Lagarde.

- Tapie's deals -

The accusations stem from Lagarde's handling of a dispute with Tapie, a former government minister who claimed a state bank had defrauded him in its sale of Adidas.

Tapie, now 73, owned the firm between 1990 and 1993 but lost control of it when he went bankrupt. 

He sold it to state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais for 315.5 million euros in February 1993. The bank sold it again the year after at 701 million euros, leading Tapie to claim he had been cheated.

Lagarde, upon becoming finance minister in 2007 under the newly elected president Nicolas Sarkozy, ordered that Tapie's long-running battle with the state be resolved by arbitration.

The decision was hugely costly, with Tapie initially walking away with a staggering 404 million euros ($427 million) in compensation in 2008. After a lengthy court battle, he has since been ordered to repay the money.

Investigators suspect the arbitration process was rigged in favour of Tapie, who had supported Sarkozy in his 2007 election campaign.

Lagarde, who served as finance minister until 2011, has always insisted she acted in France's best interest.

Although she is not accused of personally profiting from the payment, she has been criticised for failing to challenge the award.

The prosecution says that through her actions, Lagarde "deprived the state of a chance to avoid this money being misused".

She will be judged by a panel of three judges and 12 lawmakers selected from France's upper and lower houses of parliament.

Her lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve told Europe 1 radio on Monday he believed the case would be thrown out.

He asked how the court could decide "in a few days" whether there had been any wrongdoing when other judges have been looking into the case and "haven't made a decision in several years."

Lagarde succeeded her disgraced compatriot Dominique Strauss-Kahn as IMF managing director after he resigned to fight sexual assault charges.

Another former IMF head, Spaniard Rodrigo Rato, is currently standing trial for misusing funds when he was head of Spanish lender Bankia.

As well as Adidas, Tapie also owned Marseille when they won the 1993 European Cup, the forerunner of the Champions League, but they were later embroiled in a match-fixing scandal.

Source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

imf chief lagarde on trial in france over tycoon case imf chief lagarde on trial in france over tycoon case

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

imf chief lagarde on trial in france over tycoon case imf chief lagarde on trial in france over tycoon case

 



GMT 06:49 2012 Saturday ,01 September

Lamitta Frangieh on her \'Facebook Romance\'

GMT 08:26 2017 Wednesday ,08 February

Qatar spending $500m a week on World Cup projects

GMT 17:00 2017 Tuesday ,27 June

Saudi Arabia rebuts fake news on Turkey, Israel

GMT 10:31 2016 Monday ,12 December

Second Sydney airport cleared for take off

GMT 05:27 2017 Sunday ,16 April

GIB Capital wins 4 EMEA Finance Awards

GMT 13:58 2016 Friday ,30 December

Australia beat Pakistan to win Test series

GMT 10:07 2017 Monday ,17 April

Mark Hamill would like to play George Lucas

GMT 12:10 2016 Tuesday ,13 December

Over 30 dead as Kenya tanker crashes, explodes

GMT 02:13 2017 Monday ,25 September

December22nd-January20th

GMT 15:39 2017 Tuesday ,03 October

Bangladesh rescues 20 Rohingya held by racket gang

GMT 02:51 2017 Friday ,10 November

Under siege, Syria doctors forced to improvise care
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday