A French judge has put France Telecom-Orange CEO Stephane Richard under formal investigation over his role in a case under the previous government, when he was head of cabinet for then finance minister Christine Lagarde. The official charge is "organised fraud". Richard's counsel said he would appeal this "insulting" and "grotesque" charge.
Finance minister Pierre Moscovici said the operator’s board was responsible for deciding Richard’s fate, that the board should meet as soon as possible, and that the government’s three representatives on the board would vote in the company’s best interests. France Telecom has said Richard's investigation would not affect his running of the group, as the political case has nothing to do with the company. Richard has been France Telecom's CEO since 2010 and his term ends in May 2014.
The case, brought by the Hollande government, involves a large pay-off made to businessman Bernard Tapie to settle a dispute between Tapie and the government entity that held Credit Lyonnais bank. Tapie claimed the bank had defrauded him in his sale of sports company Adidas. Lagarde, currently chair of the IMF, also is under formal investigation.
The charge against Richard followed three days of questioning of the executive by the investigating judge, which resulted in Richard spending a night in hospital, citing fatigue and an existing heart condition. A spokesman for France Telecom told local media that Richard would be "back at his desk" from 13 June.
