IMF chief Christine Lagarde has been charged with ‘negligence’ over a multi-million-euro graft case relating to her time as French finance minister.
Lagarde said the move was ‘without merit’ and instructed her lawyer to appeal.
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She would return to her work in Washington after a fourth round of questioning by French magistrates, Lagarde added.
The inquiry relates to allegations tycoon Bernard Tapie, a supporter of conservative ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, was improperly awarded EUR403-million ($531-million) in an arbitration to settle a dispute with now defunct, state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais.
After tax and costs, Tapie is believed to have personally pocketed around EUR200 million of the payout, all at the taxpayer’s expense.
The judges are seeking to gauge the extent of Lagarde’s involvement in the decision of the special, three-member arbitration panel. They also want to know why she failed to appeal the panel’s ruling.
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