|
 Lagarde, who this week was questioned by magistrates in Paris for a
fourth time under her existing status as a witness in the
long-running saga, said she would contest the decision.
"I have asked my lawyer to use all recourse against this decision
which I consider to be completely unfounded," she said on BFMTV. "I
am returning to work in Washington this afternoon."
Under French law, magistrates place someone under formal
investigation when they believe there are indications of wrongdoing,
but that does not always lead to a trial.
Lagarde's lawyer, Yves Repiquet, told Reuters he would appeal the
appeal the magistrates' decision and so the matter would not prevent
Lagarde from doing her job at the head of the International Monetary
Fund in the meantime.
The inquiry relates to allegations tycoon Bernard Tapie, a supporter
of conservative ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, was improperly awarded
403 million euros ($531 million) in an arbitration to settle a
dispute with now defunct, state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais.
The inquiry has already embroiled several of Sarkozy's cabinet
members and France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard, who was an aide to
Lagarde when she was Sarkozy's finance minister.
In previous rounds of questioning, Lagarde has not recognized as her
own the pre-printed signature to sign off on a document facilitating
the payment, Repiquet told Reuters by telephone. However Richard has
stated that Lagarde was fully briefed on the matter.
The offence of negligence by a person charged with public
responsibility in France carries a maximum penalty of one year's
imprisonment and a 15,000-euro fine.
Lagarde was a star in Sarkozy's cabinet and well-respected by peers,
pushing through many of the high-profile initiatives in France's
presidency of the G20 group of nations.
She has been managing director of the IMF since 2011 after her
predecessor at the IMF, Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, resigned
over sexual assault charges that were later dropped.
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A spokesman said last year the global lender's board had discussed
possible consequences of the Tapie case and determined that she
would still be able to lead the fund.
Tapie, a colorful and often controversial character in the French
business and sports world, sued the state for compensation after
selling his stake in sports company Adidas to Credit Lyonnais in
1993.
He claimed the bank had defrauded him after it later resold his
stake for a much higher sum. Credit Lyonnais, now part of Credit
Agricole, has denied wrongdoing.
Investigators are trying to determine whether Tapie's political
connections played a role in the government's decision to resort to
arbitration that won him a huge pay-out. He has denied any
wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Chine Labbe; Writing Mark John; editing by Andrew
Callus/Jeremy Gaunt)
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