[JURIST] Today the International Monetary Fund (IMF) [official website] Managing Director Christine Lagarde [BBC profile] was ordered [decision, PDF, in French] by a French court to face criminal trial for her negligence in facilitating a $400 million government payout to French businessman, and Nicolas Sarkozy supporter, Bernard Tapie. Lagarde is accused of allowing Tapie’s case to be decided upon by an arbitration panel, as opposed to the courts, during her time as France’s Finance Minister under then president Nicolas Sarkozy. Following this decision, Lagarde is expected to stand trial [Bloomberg report] before the Cour de Justice [official website, in French], which specializes in trying government officials accused of crimes related to their government positions. Lagarde’s lawyer stated he was “convinced that the court will find the allegations of negligence to be without merit” and the IMF executive board voiced its utmost confidence in Lagarde’s ability to perform her duties as Managing Director.

In 2011 a French court had ordered [JURIST report] a formal investigation into Lagarde’s involvement in Tapie’s arbitration agreement [BBC backgrounder]. Tapie had initially sued France for compensation after he claims a state-owned bank, Credit Lyonnais [official website], defrauded him and sold his stock in Adidas at a much higher value. While Tapie had initially won a $400 million settlement through the arbitration, that decision was overturned and he has since been ordered to reimburse the state. Tapie has appealed the decision and the case is still pending.