IMF’s Lagarde guilty, but not punished, in French negligence trial

Tuesday, 20 December 2016 00:11 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

19-03

Paris (Reuters): French judges found IMF chief Christine Lagarde guilty of negligence on Monday for failing to challenge a state arbitration payout to a business tycoon in 2008 when she was French finance minister, but they did not punish her.

“The context of the global financial crisis in which Madame Lagarde found herself in should be taken into account,” said Martine Ract Madoux, the main judge, in explaining the absence of any sentence.

She also cited Lagarde’s good reputation and international standing as reasons why the court did not hand down a punishment in a case that could have carried a sentence of up to a year in prison.

In their ruling, the judges did not see negligence in Lagarde’s decision to seek an out-of-court settlement with businessman Bernard Tapie, but they said her failure to contest the award to him of 400 million euros ($ 417 million) was negligent, and led to a misuse of public funds.

Lagarde’s lawyer said immediately after the ruling that his team would look into appealing the decision.

The ruling risks triggering a new leadership crisis at the International Monetary Fund after Lagarde’s predecessor Dominique Strauss Khan resigned in 2011 over a sex assault scandal.

The Washington-based institution’s executive board was expected to meet shortly to consider the implications of the verdict, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.