Head of IMF escapes unpunished after being convicted of negligence over €404m fraud

Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the discredited International Monetary Fund, has been convicted of negligence related to fraudulent payments to a French businessman when she was French Finance Minister.

Lagarde failed to block fraudulent compensation payments of €404m to French businessman and former City Affairs Minister, Bernard Tapie, whilst serving as Finance Minister. This was judged to be an abuse of power by Lagarde and Tapie was ordered to return the money with interest. Tapie has a chequered past having been caught match fixing whilst president of Olympique de Marseille football club, convicted of corruption and subordination of witnesses and being banned from political office after being made personally bankrupt.

Although Lagarde has been convicted of negligently allowing hundreds of millions of €uro of fraudulent payments to be made to a former colleague she won't be punished after the court ruled that no criminal offence had been committed.