Christine Lagarde’s conviction for financial negligence may not have cost her her job as head of the International Monetary Fund, but it could bolster calls for leadership reform at the institution, experts said.
On Monday, a special French tribunal ruled Lagarde was guilty of “negligence with public money” for approving a 400 million euro ($418 million) payout of public funds to a French tycoon in 2008 when she was finance minister for France. The tribunal opted not to impose a punishment; Lagarde could have faced a 15,000 euro fine and up to a year in jail.
The IMF’s 24-member executive board, which speaks for its 189 member countries, responded by issuing a statement the same day saying it had “full confidence” in Lagarde’s ability to continue in her role as head of the multilateral.