International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde goes on trial Monday over a &euro;405 million state payout to a flamboyant tycoon wile she was French finance minister, news agency AFP reports.

If found guilty, Lagarde could receive a one-year prison sentence and a 15,000 Euro ($15,900) fine.

Lagarde denies the charges of &ldquo;negligence&rdquo;. She argues that she was acting &ldquo;in the state&rsquo;s interest&rdquo; in making the payment to Bernard Tapie, a close associate of Nicolas Sarkozy, who was then president.

The case threatens to dent the IMF&#39;s credibility -- Lagarde is the third IMF chief to face trial.

Her predecessor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was forced to resign after being accused of sexually assaulting a maid in 2011.

The IMF board has backed Ms Lagarde since France began legal proceedings over the payout in 2011.&nbsp;

She will be tried by the Court of Justice of the Republic, a tribunal that hears cases against ministers accused of wrongdoing in the discharge of their duties, AFP reports.

The accusations stem from Lagarde&#39;s handling of a dispute with Tapie, who claimed a state bank had defrauded him when he sold Adidas in 1993 to a group of investors. After a year, Adidas was sold for more than double the amount he was paid, The Telegraph UK reports.&nbsp;

Initially, the state resisted his claims but when Lagarde became finance minister in 2007, she ordered that Tapie&#39;s long-running battle with the state be resolved by arbitration, AFP said in its report.&nbsp;

In 2008, Tapie was awarded compensation of 404 million euros ($427 million).

Investigators suspect the arbitration process was rigged in favour of Tapie, who had supported Sarkozy during his election campaign in 2007.

Although she is not accused of personally profiting from the payment, Lagarde has been criticised for failing to challenge the award.

She maintains the case is &ldquo;politically motivated&rdquo;.

(WION with inputs from AFP) 
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If found guilty, Lagarde could receive a one-year prison sentence and a Euro 15,000 fine

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde goes on trial Monday over a €405 million state payout to a flamboyant tycoon wile she was French finance minister, news agency AFP reports. If found guilty, Lagarde could receive a one-year prison sentence and a 15,000 Euro ($15,900) fine. Lagarde denies the charges of “negligence”. She argues that she was acting “in the state’s interest” in making the payment to Bernard Tapie, a close associate of Nicolas Sarkozy, who was then president. The case threatens to dent the IMF's credibility -- Lagarde is the third IMF chief to face trial. Her predecessor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was forced to resign after being accused of sexually assaulting a maid in 2011. The IMF board has backed Ms Lagarde since France began legal proceedings over the payout in 2011. She will be tried by the Court of Justice of the Republic, a tribunal that hears cases against ministers accused of wrongdoing in the discharge of their duties, AFP reports. The accusations stem from Lagarde's handling of a dispute with Tapie, who claimed a state bank had defrauded him when he sold Adidas in 1993 to a group of investors. After a year, Adidas was sold for more than double the amount he was paid, The Telegraph UK reports. Initially, the state resisted his claims but when Lagarde became finance minister in 2007, she ordered that Tapie's long-running battle with the state be resolved by arbitration, AFP said in its report. In 2008, Tapie was awarded compensation of 404 million euros ($427 million). Investigators suspect the arbitration process was rigged in favour of Tapie, who had supported Sarkozy during his election campaign in 2007. Although she is not accused of personally profiting from the payment, Lagarde has been criticised for failing to challenge the award. She maintains the case is “politically motivated”. (WION with inputs from AFP)

IMF chief Lagarde on trial in France over tycoon case

Ahead of annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, the head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde warned against protectionism and trade restrictions.&nbsp;

Lagarde, the IMF&#39;s managing director, said the despite signs of current global recovery, the economy was still fragile.&nbsp;

The global economy risked prolonged low growth and advanced economies faced painful inequality, she said.&nbsp;

&quot;Especially for advanced economies, while there are some good signs the overall growth outlook remains subdued,&quot; Lagarde said in prepared remarks delivered at Northwestern University, near Chicago.

&quot;We continue to face the problem of global growth being too low for too long, benefiting too few,&quot; she added.

Lagarde advised governments to preserve policies that had helped the recovery so far, persisting in trade liberalisation while helping workers who have been displaced by off-shoring, outsourcing and new technologies in order to create &quot;inclusive growth.&quot;

&quot;The same applies in reverse. Policies that hurt growth will have real consequences - both for the world at large and very often for the very people they are meant to protect,&quot; she said.

In recent weeks, the IMF has warned that high debt, weak demand, eroding work forces and labor skills were weakening incentives for investment and slowing productivity.

Lagarde said it threatened to create a &quot;low growth trap.&quot;

The IMF has also signaled it expects to downgrade its forecasts for US growth due to sub-par performance in the first half of 2016.

(WION with inputs from agencies) 
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Lagarde said protectionism and trade restrictions risked prolonged low growth in advanced economies

Ahead of annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, the head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde warned against protectionism and trade restrictions. Lagarde, the IMF's managing director, said the despite signs of current global recovery, the economy was still fragile. The global economy risked prolonged low growth and advanced economies faced painful inequality, she said. "Especially for advanced economies, while there are some good signs the overall growth outlook remains subdued," Lagarde said in prepared remarks delivered at Northwestern University, near Chicago. "We continue to face the problem of global growth being too low for too long, benefiting too few," she added. Lagarde advised governments to preserve policies that had helped the recovery so far, persisting in trade liberalisation while helping workers who have been displaced by off-shoring, outsourcing and new technologies in order to create "inclusive growth." "The same applies in reverse. Policies that hurt growth will have real consequences - both for the world at large and very often for the very people they are meant to protect," she said. In recent weeks, the IMF has warned that high debt, weak demand, eroding work forces and labor skills were weakening incentives for investment and slowing productivity. Lagarde said it threatened to create a "low growth trap." The IMF has also signaled it expects to downgrade its forecasts for US growth due to sub-par performance in the first half of 2016. (WION with inputs from agencies)

IMF chief warns trade restrictions creating 'low growth trap'

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday welcomed International Monetary Fund &#39;s (IMF) decision to release additional aid worth $1 billion to the strife-torn country. The aid package had been held up in part on corruption concerns.&nbsp; 
 
Poroshenko said IMF&#39;s approval to release the funds showed that the world recognises that Ukraine was carrying out reforms. 
 
The $17.5 billion program is intended to help stabilise the country after the 2014 ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. Kiev had been waiting for the release of the lending since August last year.&nbsp; 
 
Stressing that&nbsp;a Russian attempt to undermine the IMF&#39;s decision had failed, Poroshenko said that the aid would also help keep the Ukrainian hryvnia currency stable and maintain macroeconomic stabilisation.&nbsp; 
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<h5>IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said Ukraine had shown &quot;welcome signs of recovery&quot; despite long odds, with inflation receding and activity rising.</h5>
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&quot;...the Fund&#39;s resolution has sent a signal to the aggressor, who has tried to throw sand in our wheels even at the (IMF) board meeting. Russia&#39;s attempts to undermine the solidarity of the IMF with Ukraine, and to disrupt the decision on this tranche have failed. The Kremlin lost in this operation. Reforms make us stronger. At the same time, our ability to withstand external aggression has became stronger,&quot; Poroshenko was quoted as saying by Reuters.&nbsp; 
 
The country has suffered deep economic decline after two years of war, with GDP contracting 9.9 per cent in 2015. Wednesday&#39;s decision by the IMF Executive Board brings the total amount disbursed to about $7.62 billion, the Fund said in a statement, according to AFP.&nbsp; 
 
Despite Ukraine&#39;s failure to meet several program targets, including on limiting debt, boosting reserves and easing foreign exchange restrictions, the Fund&#39;s Executive Board said it approved the disbursement.&nbsp; 
 
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said Ukraine had shown &quot;welcome signs of recovery&quot; despite long odds, with inflation receding and activity rising. 
 
&quot;While the social and economic cost of the crisis has been high, growth is expected to be higher in the period ahead,&quot; she said, however, Lagarde pointed out that the progress was far from recovery.&nbsp; 
 
The $1 billion approved on Wednesday was short of the $1.6 billion expected in the latest tranche of lending but the Fund did not explain the difference. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

The $17.5 billion program was intended to help stabilise the country following the 2014 ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday welcomed International Monetary Fund 's (IMF) decision to release additional aid worth $1 billion to the strife-torn country. The aid package had been held up in part on corruption concerns. Poroshenko said IMF's approval to release the funds showed that the world recognises that Ukraine was carrying out reforms. The $17.5 billion program is intended to help stabilise the country after the 2014 ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. Kiev had been waiting for the release of the lending since August last year. Stressing that a Russian attempt to undermine the IMF's decision had failed, Poroshenko said that the aid would also help keep the Ukrainian hryvnia currency stable and maintain macroeconomic stabilisation. IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said Ukraine had shown "welcome signs of recovery" despite long odds, with inflation receding and activity rising. "...the Fund's resolution has sent a signal to the aggressor, who has tried to throw sand in our wheels even at the (IMF) board meeting. Russia's attempts to undermine the solidarity of the IMF with Ukraine, and to disrupt the decision on this tranche have failed. The Kremlin lost in this operation. Reforms make us stronger. At the same time, our ability to withstand external aggression has became stronger," Poroshenko was quoted as saying by Reuters. The country has suffered deep economic decline after two years of war, with GDP contracting 9.9 per cent in 2015. Wednesday's decision by the IMF Executive Board brings the total amount disbursed to about $7.62 billion, the Fund said in a statement, according to AFP. Despite Ukraine's failure to meet several program targets, including on limiting debt, boosting reserves and easing foreign exchange restrictions, the Fund's Executive Board said it approved the disbursement. IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said Ukraine had shown "welcome signs of recovery" despite long odds, with inflation receding and activity rising. "While the social and economic cost of the crisis has been high, growth is expected to be higher in the period ahead," she said, however, Lagarde pointed out that the progress was far from recovery. The $1 billion approved on Wednesday was short of the $1.6 billion expected in the latest tranche of lending but the Fund did not explain the difference. (WION with inputs from agencies)

IMF resumes bailout for war-torn Ukraine after long delay, releases  $1 billion

IMF chief Christine Lagarde was ordered Friday to stand trial in France over a massive state payout to a controversial tycoon when she was French economy minister, dealing a setback to her stellar career. 
 
Frances highest appeals court dismissed Lagarde&#39;s challenge against the decision to try her for negligence in her handling of a dispute between a state-owned bank and businessman Bernard Tapie. 
 
Tapie walked away with a staggering 404 million euros ($445 million) in compensation in 2008 after Lagarde ordered the long-running row over the sale of sports gear giant Adidas to be resolved by arbitration. 
 
Friday&#39;s ruling means the 60-year-old IMF chief will go before a special tribunal that hears cases against government ministers accused of wrongdoing in the discharge of their duties. The ruling is a blow to the IMF boss, who insists she acted in France&#39;s best interests in the case. 
 
Lagarde has denied any wrongdoing or that she acted on orders from then president Nicolas Sarkozy, of whom Tapie was a supporter. In an interview with AFP in Washington earlier this month she insisted she had a &quot;clear conscience&quot;. &quot;Ive always acted in accordance with the law, and I`ve always had in mind the public interest. 
 
&quot;It was not my duty to select the arbitration panel, to investigate their past and history, and I had no reason to doubt their probity and honesty,&quot; she said. 
 
Investigating magistrates however found evidence of &quot;serious negligence on the part of a minister tasked with conducting affairs of state&quot; and in December ordered the case go to trial. 
 
Lagarde appealed the decision, but her challenge was struck out Friday.&nbsp;If tried and convicted, she risks up to a year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros. 
 
IMF firmly backs Christine Lagarde&nbsp; 
 
The International Monetary Fund expressed firm backing for Lagarde. &quot;The executive board has been briefed on recent developments related to this matter, and continues to express its confidence in the Managing Director&#39;s ability to effectively carry out her duties,&quot; said IMF spokesman Gerry Rice. 
 
The case was well known to the Fund&#39;s executive directors during her first term leading the Washington-based institution, and they have consistently expressed support for and confidence in her. 
 
Rice said in an emailed statement that it would &quot;would not be appropriate&quot; for the IMF to comment on the case itself. 
 
Lagarde was placed under formal investigation in 2014 over her handling of a long-running dispute with Tapie, who claimed he was defrauded by the state-controlled bank Credit Lyonnais in its handling of his sale of Adidas in the 1990s. The case against Lagarde stems from her decision to allow the row be settled by arbitration instead of by the courts, which would likely have resulted in a much smaller bill for the state.&nbsp; 
 
Prosecutors have also questioned her failure to challenge the massive award. A court has since found the arbitration to be fraudulent because one of the arbitrators had links to 73-year-old Tapie. 
 
The ruling comes just days after she began her second term as head of the institution, where she has been hailed as both a tough negotiator and a skilled consensus-builder. 
 
She will be the third successive head of the Washington-based lender to face trial. 
 
Her predecessor, compatriot Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was acquitted of pimping by a French court last year, four years after he resigned his IMF post to fight separate sexual assault allegations. 
 
Spain&#39;s former IMF chief Rodrigo Rato has also been ordered to stand trial for misusing funds when he was head of Spanish lender Bankia.&nbsp; 
 
The former corporate lawyer became the first woman to head the IMF when she replaced Strauss-Kahn in July 2011. 
 
(AFP) 
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Lagarde was ordered to be tried for her role in making a 404 million Euro payout to businessman Bernard Tapie when she was finance minister

IMF chief Christine Lagarde was ordered Friday to stand trial in France over a massive state payout to a controversial tycoon when she was French economy minister, dealing a setback to her stellar career. Frances highest appeals court dismissed Lagarde's challenge against the decision to try her for negligence in her handling of a dispute between a state-owned bank and businessman Bernard Tapie. Tapie walked away with a staggering 404 million euros ($445 million) in compensation in 2008 after Lagarde ordered the long-running row over the sale of sports gear giant Adidas to be resolved by arbitration. Friday's ruling means the 60-year-old IMF chief will go before a special tribunal that hears cases against government ministers accused of wrongdoing in the discharge of their duties. The ruling is a blow to the IMF boss, who insists she acted in France's best interests in the case. Lagarde has denied any wrongdoing or that she acted on orders from then president Nicolas Sarkozy, of whom Tapie was a supporter. In an interview with AFP in Washington earlier this month she insisted she had a "clear conscience". "Ive always acted in accordance with the law, and I`ve always had in mind the public interest. "It was not my duty to select the arbitration panel, to investigate their past and history, and I had no reason to doubt their probity and honesty," she said. Investigating magistrates however found evidence of "serious negligence on the part of a minister tasked with conducting affairs of state" and in December ordered the case go to trial. Lagarde appealed the decision, but her challenge was struck out Friday. If tried and convicted, she risks up to a year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros. IMF firmly backs Christine Lagarde The International Monetary Fund expressed firm backing for Lagarde. "The executive board has been briefed on recent developments related to this matter, and continues to express its confidence in the Managing Director's ability to effectively carry out her duties," said IMF spokesman Gerry Rice. The case was well known to the Fund's executive directors during her first term leading the Washington-based institution, and they have consistently expressed support for and confidence in her. Rice said in an emailed statement that it would "would not be appropriate" for the IMF to comment on the case itself. Lagarde was placed under formal investigation in 2014 over her handling of a long-running dispute with Tapie, who claimed he was defrauded by the state-controlled bank Credit Lyonnais in its handling of his sale of Adidas in the 1990s. The case against Lagarde stems from her decision to allow the row be settled by arbitration instead of by the courts, which would likely have resulted in a much smaller bill for the state. Prosecutors have also questioned her failure to challenge the massive award. A court has since found the arbitration to be fraudulent because one of the arbitrators had links to 73-year-old Tapie. The ruling comes just days after she began her second term as head of the institution, where she has been hailed as both a tough negotiator and a skilled consensus-builder. She will be the third successive head of the Washington-based lender to face trial. Her predecessor, compatriot Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was acquitted of pimping by a French court last year, four years after he resigned his IMF post to fight separate sexual assault allegations. Spain's former IMF chief Rodrigo Rato has also been ordered to stand trial for misusing funds when he was head of Spanish lender Bankia. The former corporate lawyer became the first woman to head the IMF when she replaced Strauss-Kahn in July 2011. (AFP)

French court orders IMF chief Christine Lagarde to stand trial