Chief Executive Linked to I.M.F. Official Faces Inquiry
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Version 0 of 1. French prosecutors said Wednesday that Stéphane Richard, the chief executive of France Télécom, would be formally investigated for his role in a politically charged case that has already shined an uncomfortable spotlight on his former boss, Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund. Mr. Richard has denied wrongdoing. He is being investigated on suspicion of organized fraud, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office. Investigators are examining a 2008 arbitration case in which Bernard Tapie, a businessman, was awarded $535 million to settle a dispute with Crédit Lyonnais, a state-owned bank. Mr. Tapie had been a career Socialist, but he switched his allegiance in 2007 to the center-right party led by the president at the time, Nicolas Sarkozy. Acting on a complaint from Socialist deputies, prosecutors began an investigation to learn if Mr. Tapie might have received special treatment in the case, which Mr. Tapie denied. They are also trying to understand why government officials did not challenge the outcome despite indications of possible anomalies in the procedure. At the time of the arbitration, Mr. Richard was chief of staff to Ms. Lagarde, who was Mr. Sarkozy’s finance minister from 2007 to 2011. Ms. Lagarde has herself come under suspicion for allowing the arbitration. |