PARIS — A French court on Thursday ordered an investigation into charges that the International Monetary Fund’s new managing director, Christine Lagarde, had abused her authority in a 2007 dispute involving a multimillion-dollar payout to a French tycoon while she was the finance minister of France.
The ruling by the Court of Justice of the Republic, which oversees the actions of French ministers, means that Ms. Lagarde may have to gird for a possibly lengthy legal process to defend against the criminal charge.
But legal experts said it was unlikely to interfere with her management of the fund, which was aware before her appointment that an investigation could be called.
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