IMF chief Lagarde charged over French corruption case

PARIS - Agence France-Presse

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde. REUTERS Photo

IMF chief Christine Lagarde announced on Aug. 27 she had been charged for "negligence" over a multi-million-euro corruption case relating to her time as French finance minister in 2008.
      
In exclusive comments to AFP, she said she had no intention of resigning over the charges. "I return back to Washington where I will indeed brief my board," she added.
      
The shock announcement comes after she was grilled Tuesday for the fourth time by a special court in Paris that probes cases of ministerial misconduct.
     
The case relates to her handling of a 400-million-euro ($527-million) state payout to disgraced French tycoon Bernard Tapie in 2008.
      
She has always denied any wrongdoing, and did so again on Wednesday. "I have instructed my lawyer to appeal this decision which I consider totally without merit," she said.