Summary The case involves a 400 million euro payment Tapie received in an arbitration process.
PARIS (AP) - French tycoon Bernard Tapie has been placed under formal investigation on charges stemming from a controversial government payment arranged while IMF chief Christine Lagarde served as France s finance minister.
The Paris prosecutor says Friday it s filed preliminary charges of organized fraud against Tapie, an outspoken magnate who once owned sportswear maker Adidas.
The case involves a 400 million euro ($520 million) payment Tapie received in an arbitration process to settle a dispute over the botched sale of Adidas by a state-owned bank in the 1990s. It s seen as an example of the cozy relationship among the French elite.
Tapie was close to then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy then Lagarde s boss when the payment was made. Critics say the deal was too generous to Tapie, and shouldn t have gone to arbitration.
