New Delhi:
A French court has found International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde guilty of criminal charges linked to the misuse of public funds during her time as France’s finance minister, a verdict that could force her out of her post.
However, the court ruled that she would not be penalised for the negligence.
As French finance minister in 2008, she approved an award of €404m ($429m; £340m) to businessman Bernard Tapie for the disputed sale of a firm.
Lagarde was not present in the court in Paris for the verdict, having left France for Washington.
The scandal has overshadowed her work at the fund, to which she was appointed in 2011, after Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned as managing director when he was accused of having sexually assaulted a maid in a New York City hotel.
