拉加德将在法国出庭受审 Lagarde faces trial over Tapie payment

A French court has ordered Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, to face trial over her role in a disputed 400m payout made to businessman Bernard Tapie in 2008.

法国一家法庭命令国际货币基金组织(IMF)总裁克里斯蒂娜拉加德(Christine Lagarde)出庭受审，原因是她曾参与在2008年向商人伯纳德吠皮(Bernard Tapie)支付受到质疑的4亿欧元。

Ms Lagarde, who was French finance minister at the time, has for years denied wrongdoing in the affair that has entangled several members of the cabinet of former president Nicolas Sarkozy.

多年来，时任法国财政部长的拉加德一直否认在这件事上有不当行为，此案涉及法国前总统尼古拉萨科齐(Nicolas Sarkozy)的多名内阁成员。

She appeared to have won the day in September when prosecutors argued that the case against her should be dropped.

今年9月，她似乎取得胜利，当时检方主张，针对她的指控应撤销。

But France’s Cour de Justice de la République, a special tribunal set up to try ministers, said yesterday that she would in fact stand trial over the affair. Ms Lagarde is accused of negligence in public office in relation to misuse of public funds, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of up to ㄠ5,000.

但专门审理部长级官员案件的法国特别法庭——共和国司法法院(Cour de justice de la République)昨日表示，拉加德仍须因为此案出庭受审。拉加德被控在担任公职期间玩忽职守，滥用公款，这一指控的最重惩罚是一年监禁和最高1.5万欧元罚金。

The decision to put the IMF chief on trial is the latest twist in the 22-year legal saga.

让拉加德受审的决定是这起长达22年的司法案件的最新曲折。

It concerns more than 400m paid out to Mr Tapie by the French government in 2008 in compensation after he claimed he was defrauded by Crédit Lyonnais, at that point a state-owned bank, into selling his stake in sports equipment company Adidas for less than it was worth in 1993.

此案涉及法国政府在2008年向塔皮支付逾4亿欧元赔偿，此前塔皮声称，1993年，当时身为国有银行的里昂信贷银行(Crédit Lyonnais)欺骗他以低于市场价位的价格出售了他在运动器材公司阿迪达斯(Adidas)的股权。

The French state had long fought against the compensation claim, but abruptly changed tack and ordered an arbitration. Critics claimed the payout — approved by Ms Lagarde — was rigged to reward Mr Tapie, a former socialist, for backing Mr Sarkozy’s election campaign.

法国政府曾长期抗辩索赔请求，但突然改变做法，下令进行仲裁。批评者称，这笔付款（由拉加德批准）受到操纵，是为了回报前社会党人士塔皮对萨科齐竞选活动的支持。

Earlier this month, however, the Paris appeal court ruled Mr Tapie had to pay back the money he received from the French state. He had been arguing the payout should have been higher.

然而，本月早些时候，巴黎上诉法庭裁决，塔皮必须退回他从法国政府拿到的赔偿。塔皮此前辩称，赔偿金额本应更高。

Ms Lagarde’s office said she “would like to reaffirm that she acted in the best interest of the French state and in full compliance with the law”.

拉加德办公室表示，她“希望重申，她的所作所为符合法国国家的最佳利益，而且完全合法。”

The IMF said its executive board “continues to express its confidence in the managing director’s ability to effectively carry out her duties”.

IMF表示，其执行董事会“继续表示相信这位总裁有效履行职责的能力”。