IMF backs Lagarde despite guilty verdict in French trial
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has been backed by the organisation despite being found guilty of negligence in a French court on Monday.
Lagarde was found guilty for an incident relating to her time serving as French foreign minister, in which she referred a legal battle involving controversial businessman Bernard Tapie and lender Crédit Lyonnais to a private arbitration. The three-person panel decided Tapie was owed 400m euros in taxpayers' money.
Tapie was ordered to repay the money the last year after almost a decade of legal wrangling resulting from the deal.
"The Executive Board looks forward to continuing to work with the managing director to address the difficult challenges facing the global economy," the IMF's board said.
Lagarde herself defended her actions, but said she would not be appealing the decision.
"I am not satisfied with it. But there is a point in time when one has to just stop, turn the page and move on and continue to work with those who have put their trust in me," she said.
The IMF recently appointed Lagarde to a second five-year term as managing director of the fund, after taking over the position in 2011 following the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.