Brussels, 05/08/2011 (Agence Europe) - Directly concerned by an order of investigation issued by the French Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) on Thursday 4 August, Christine Lagarde nonetheless has the full confidence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of which she recently became managing director.
An IMF press release on Thursday afternoon expresses confidence in Lagarde saying: “The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund is confident that she will be able to effectively carry out her duties as managing director”. Lagarde had made it clear when appointed at the head of the IMF on 28 June that there was a possibility of such an investigation coming up. “The Executive Board prior to its selection of the new managing director discussed the case in France. It would not be appropriate for the Board to comment on a case that is currently before the French judiciary”, the IMF explains.
Two possible charges are at issue in the French investigation: - complicity in the embezzlement of public funds and complicity in forgery. The former general prosecutor at the court of cassation, Jean-Louis Nadal, had said in May that Lagarde, in her former capacity as minister of the economy and finance, could be reproached for her management of the arbitration procedure that had brought to an end, in July 2008, the conflict opposing businessman Bernard Tapie and the Crédit Lyonnais on the subject of the sale of Adidas, in 1993.
Investigations of this kind generally drag on for a long time. The IMF managing director, therefore - if she were to appear before the CJR - may not be judged for several years. In the meantime, she will have to live under the threat of a trial looming up sometime in the future. (L.C./transl.jl)