International Monetary Fund, IMF, chief Christine Lagarde is to stand trial in France for alleged negligence over a 400 million Euros payment to a businessman in 2008.
She was finance minister in President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government at the time of the compensation award to Bernard Tapie for the sale of a firm.
Mr. Tapie supported Mr. Sarkozy in the 2007 presidential election.
France’s Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) decided that Ms. Lagarde should be tried on the charge of “negligence by a person in position of public authority” over the compensation case, iTele TV channel and the Mediapart website reported today.
According to BBC News, Ms. Lagarde’s lawyer described the court’s decision as “incomprehensible”, and said the IMF boss would appeal.
