The Court of justice of the Republic ruled that the former minister of the economy has been negligent by not attempting any remedy after the arbitration in favour of Bernard Tapie in 2008.
The former minister of the economy Christine Lagarde has been found guilty of negligence by the Court of justice of the Republic (CJR), Monday, 19 December, but was exempt from penalty. This decision will not be mentioned in his criminal record. The prosecution had requested a retrial.
The director general of the international monetary Fund (IMF), restraint “for professional reasons” in Washington, according to his lawyer, did not come to attend the reading of the judgment. She faced up to a year in prison and 15,000 euros fine.
The court considered that it had acted with negligence in permitting in 2007, an arbitration procedure with Bernard Tapie to settle a dispute with the former state-owned bank Credit lyonnais. This arbitration had awarded 400 million euros to the business man.
a Possible appeal to the supreme court
According to the decision of the RGC, Christine Lagarde, ” was personally involved in the decision not to appeal against the arbitration “. The court accuses him of not having taken any notice to the contrary to those who were not supportive of the use. According to the CJR, an appeal would have allowed him to discover the fraud. The ex-minister of the economy, in place from 2007 to 2011, has, therefore, been negligent in its decision-making.
there was no appeal possible from the decisions of the RGC, which alone is authorized to try members of government for crimes or offences committed in the exercise of their functions. The last possible recourse is the appeal to the supreme court – a possibility that will explore his lawyer.
For its part, the IMF has indicated that it would “soon” meet to discuss the conviction of its director general.
Read also : Case Tapie : if you’ve missed an episode
” Defence of the general interest “
Before the Court departs to deliberate on Friday, Christine Lagarde had said to take its decisions, claiming to have acted, ” with the sole purpose the defence of the general interest “.
Cancelled in 2015 for fraud in civil cases, this private arbitration is the subject of a criminal investigation for ” the misappropriation of public funds “ and ” scam “, distinct from that which has referred to the former minister.
during The discussion, the president of the court is surprised that the minister does attempts no recourse when three arbitrators have awarded more than 400 million euros of public money to Bernard Tapie in the summer of 2008. At the time, Christine Lagarde had concluded a bit quickly, according to investigators, the legal arguments for an appeal were too slim.
Stéphane Richard weighed down
The hearings have been marked by an absence, that of Stéphane Richard. The current president and ceo of Orange and former director of the cabinet of Mme Lagarde at Bercy has preferred not to testify. He had the right to preserve its own defense, because he is indicted in the main survey, non-ministerial. Before the CJR, Stéphane Richard has been overwhelmed by the number of witnesses, who have made it the first in favour of an arbitration of the old dispute between the businessman and the Credit lyonnais.
Since its creation in 1993, the Court of justice of the Republic has sentenced three members of government, never to the prison farm. She is entered for the first time, of the offense of negligence a person ” agent of the public authority “, rarely pursued in common law.
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