Investigators search Paris home of IMF chief

Paris home of IMF chief searched in probe of $400 million arbitration deal

Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde

PARIS — A lawyer for IMF chief Christine Lagarde says French investigators have searched her Paris home as part of an inquiry into her role in a $400 million arbitration deal in favor of a tycoon.

The lawyer, Yves Repiquet, says Lagarde has nothing to hide and welcomed today's search as another step in proving her innocence.

Lagarde was France's finance minister when magnate Bernard Tapie won a 2008 settlement with a state-owned bank over the mishandled sale of Adidas in the 1990s. Critics said the settlement was too generous.

Questions about the settlement began before Lagarde was appointed head of the Washington-based International Monetary Fund after her predecessor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, quit to face charges he tried to rape a New York hotel maid. The charges against Strauss-Kahn were dropped.