Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was found guilty yesterday of criminal charges linked to the misuse of public funds during her time as France’s finance minister, a verdict that could force her out of her post, reported the New York Times. It took into account all factors including her “outstanding leadership of the Fund and the wide respect and trust for her leadership globally.”

“In this context, the Executive Board reaffirms its full confidence in the Managing Director's ability to continue to effectively carry out her duties,” the board said in a statement. • 60-year-old IMF managing director convicted at the Cour de Justice de la Republique, over events that occurred nearly a decade ago
• Lagarde was negligent in 2008 decision not to appeal arbitration, judge says
• Lagarde decided in mid-2008 not to appeal a 285 million-euro ($303-million) arbitration award for businessman Bernard Tapie that led to a massive government payout
• Lagarde was cleared of second count related to her 2007 decision to take Tapie dispute to arbitration
• Case stems from former state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais’s disagreement with Tapie over the 1993 sale of Adidas AG, which he owned

The IMF has just issued a brief statement:

Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time that an IMF head has been “sacrificed” for the greater good: recall the impressive framing of Lagarde’s predecessor Dominique Strauss-Khan, who from frontrunning French presidential candidate, suffered a political and career trainwreck overnight when he allegedly raped a maid at a NYC hotel. The case stemmed from Ms. Lagarde's decision in 2007 to allow a dispute over sale of the Adidas sports brand to the state-owned Credit Lyonnais bank to be resolved by a private arbitration panel, and then failing to challenge the result.
A court in Paris finds International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde guilty of negligence in a 404 million euro "misuse of public funds" case. The court ruled that Lagarde won't be fined, won't serve any jail time, or receive a criminal record. The IMF Executive Board "looks forward to continuing to work with" her.