Christine Lagarde accused over Bernard Tapie ‘fraud’

France Telecom’s CEO has said the IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, was fully briefed before approving a “fraudulent” arbitration process that saw the tycoon Bernard Tapie awarded a huge payout in 2008.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Mr Tapie’s connections to former President Nicolas Sarkozy had a role in the decision to resort to arbitration, which led to him receiving €403m in damages and interest.

France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard, an aide to Ms Lagarde when she was Finance Minister, has been placed under formal investigation over his role.