4
GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday December 18, 2015
IMF boss to stand trial for negligence
IMF chief, Christine Lagarde is to stand trial in France for alleged negligence over a €404M ($438M; £294M) payment to a businessman in 2008. She was finance minister in President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government at the time of the compensation award to Bernard Tapie for the sale of a firm. Mr Tapie supported Mr Sarkozy in the 2007 presidential election. Ms Lagarde’s lawyer described the court’s decision as “incomprehensible”, and said the IMF boss would appeal.
In a statement, she said she had “always acted in this affair in the interest of the State, and in respect of the law,” according to AP. Mr Tapie was once a majority shareholder in Adidas, the sports goods company, but sold it in 1993 in order to become a cabinet minister in Francois Mitterrand’s Socialist government. He sued the Credit Lyonnais bank over its handling of the sale, alleging that the partly State-owned bank had defrauded him by deliberately undervaluing the company. His case was later re-
ferred by Ms Lagarde to a three-member arbitration panel, which awarded the compensation, causing a public outcry. Investigators suspect he was granted a deal in return for his support of Mr Sarkozy. Earlier this month, a French court ruled that Mr Tapie was not entitled to any compensation for that sale, and should pay back the €404M, with interest. FIVE-DAY DEADLINE France’s Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) decided that Ms Lagarde, 59, should be tried on the charge
Christine Lagarde
of “negligence by a person in position of public authority” over the compensation case, iTele TV channel and the Mediapart website reported yesterday. A court spokesman later confirmed the decision. If convicted, she could be sentenced to one year in prison. French media said the CJR investigation magistrates declined to follow the recommendation of another court, which last year decided not to pursue the case. “It’s incomprehensible,” Ms Lagarde’s lawyer, Yves
Repiquet told iTele. “I will recommend Ms Lagarde appeal against this decision.” A spokesman for France’s attorney-general said Ms Lagarde would have five days to appeal, once the court decision is made public tomorrow or Monday. Meanwhile, IMF spokesman, Gerry Rice said the organisation, which represents 188 member nations, “continues to express its confidence in the managing director’s ability to effectively carry out her duties.” (BBC)
Pentagon to transfer 17 ‘Gitmo’ prisoners THE Pentagon plans to transfer 17 Guantanamo Bay detainees in the coming weeks, a move that would cut the US prison’s population to 90, reports say. US media quote officials as saying Defence Secre-
tary Ashton Carter has already told Congress about the move. It would reportedly be the largest number of detainee transfers in a single month since 2007. President Barack Obama
wants to close the controversial jail in Cuba, set up during the “war on terror” in 2002. It is being used to detain what Washington calls “enemy combatants”, following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US.
DATE: 16/12/2015 M 18 08 28 19 24 23 09
17/12/2015
7
8
9
The first 20 detainees were transferred to the facility on January 11, 2002, and a total of 780 men have been held since then, the vast majority without charge or criminal trial.
14
21
17/12/2015
8
RESTRICTIONS TIGHTENED Mr Carter recently notified Congress about the planned transfer of 17 lower-level detainees, officials familiar with internal deliberations were quoted as saying by the New York Times newspaper. Separately, a senior US defence official told the AFP news agency, “We found homes for the 17 [detainees],” adding that several countries had agreed to take them in. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity. The New York-based Human Rights First organisation
3
1
17/12/2015
has welcomed the reported move. “It is encouraging to see President Obama take decisive action towards transferring these detainees -- who have been cleared for transfer by all relevant national security agencies -- out of the detention facility,” said Human Rights First’s Daphne Eviatar. “But the simple fact remains that the president needs to continue making this a priority, if he intends to follow through on his promise to shutter Guantanamo before he leaves office,” she added. President Obama is trying to shut the Guantanamo detention facility before he leaves the White House in 2017. It is believed that 20 prisoners have been transferred so far in 2015. The Republican-dominated Congress has tightened restrictions on transfers from the prison, requiring the Pentagon to report that security standards have been met at least 30 days before any such move.
18
01 06 17
15 12
10