A timeline of IMF chief Lagarde's legal woes

Paris: Here is a timeline of events in the Adidas arbitrage case in France that has led to IMF chief Christine Lagarde being ordered to stand trial for “negligence” during her term as French finance minister in 2008. [caption id=“attachment_248355” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  IMF chief Lagarde/ Reuters[/caption] 1993 - February 15: French businessman and politician Bernard Tapie sells German sporting goods giant Adidas for the franc equivalent of 315.5 million euros ($415 million) to a consortium that includes Credit Lyonnais, a state-owned bank at the time. The next year the debt-ridden tycoon is declared bankrupt. Adidas is re-sold for 701 million euros to Robert Louis-Dreyfus, chairman of Adidas Group since April 1993. 2005 - September 30: After years of legal procedures, A French court orders the state to pay 135 million euros to Tapie over irregularities in the Adidas sale. The nation’s highest court overturns the ruling in 2006. 2007 - October 25: Lagarde asks an arbitration panel to rule on the dispute between Tapie and Credit Lyonnais, which the tycoon says undervalued Adidas in the 1993-94 sale. 2008 - July 11: The French government agrees to pay Tapie 285 million euros plus interest, for a total of 400 million euros, ending a 13-year dispute over the Adidas sale. The finance ministry insists Tapie will not receive more than 50 million euros of the money, but French media later reveal he will pocket 210 million. 2011 - May 10: A French prosecutor petitions the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) for a probe of Lagarde in connection with her role in the Tapie payoff. The CJR is a special court set up to judge crimes committed by ministers and former ministers. In early August, the court begins an investigation into “embezzlement of public funds” and “complicity” in falsifying documents. The International Monetary Fund expresses confidence in Lagarde, who had taken over as its chief a month earlier. 2013 - March 20: French police raid Lagarde’s Paris home. - May 24: Lagarde appears before the CJR. 2014 - February 6: The IMF board reaffirms its confidence in Lagarde after she was questioned late January. - August 26: The CRJ questions Lagarde for more than 15 hours. - August 27: Lagarde tells AFP she has been charged with “negligence” but says she has no intention of resigning from the IMF. 2015 - February 17: An appeals court overturns the arbitration decision and re-examines the case. - May 6: Tapie is charged with embezzlement, while Lagarde’s former chief of staff, Stephane Richard, now head of the Orange telecom giant, is charged with complicity in fraud. - September 22: French prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin calls for the charges against Lagarde to be dismissed. - December 3: Tapie is ordered to pay back the 404 million euros awarded to him. He says he is “ruined” by the court decision. - December 17: Lagarde is ordered to stand trial at the CRJ. The IMF expresses confidence in her. AFP