Paris — Stephane Richard, the head of French telecoms group Orange, will not testify on Wednesday at the trial on negligence charges of International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, said a lawyer for Richard. The trial relates to Lagarde’s approval in 2008, as then finance minister, of a French state payout of €400m to tycoon Bernard Tapie. Richard had been summoned to testify since he was Lagarde’s chief of staff at the time. Lagarde put the spotlight on him on Tuesday, the second day of the trial. She said that while she gave the green light to explore an arbitration with Tapie in 2007, Lagarde "relied" on Richard’s suggestions in a process begun months before she took office. Richard acted as a filter for the thousands of memos she received each year, she said in Paris on Tuesday. Richard "told me back then that all my predecessors had tried" and failed to bring the case to a close, "only the arbitration process hadn’t been tried", Lagarde told the Paris court. The goal wa...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.