Tapie-Crédit Lyonnais arbitration: Orange boss sentenced to one year in prison

Orange CEO Stéphane Richard upon his arrival at the Paris court on March 11, 2019. AP - Christophe Ena

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In the Bernard Tapie - Crédit lyonnais case, Orange CEO Stéphane Richard was sentenced to one year in prison with a 50,000 euro fine, this Wednesday, November 24, by the Court of Appeal of Paris.

His future at the head of the company of which the State is the largest shareholder is now threatened, the Board of Directors of Orange should decide on his fate

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Stéphane Richard was found guilty of complicity and embezzlement of public funds in the disputed arbitration process of Crédit Lyonnais, which allowed businessman Bernard Tapie to pocket some 400 million euros in 2008.

"Dircab" by Christine Lagarde

The CEO of Orange was, at the time of the arbitration, chief of staff to the Minister of the Economy, Christine Lagarde.

Justice accuses Stéphane Richard of having acted in

without informing Minister Christine Lagarde.

The latter, who is now at the head of the European Central Bank (ECB), was condemned in 2016 for "negligence" by the Court of Justice of the Republic, but exempted from punishment. 

The risk of losing your job

Condemned,

, now risks losing his position as CEO of Orange, which he has led since 2010. In 2018, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, had already warned that in the event of conviction, Stéphane Richard should hand over his mandate.

A Board of Directors is being held this Wednesday to discuss governance.

Stéphane Richard has already announced his intention to appeal to the Supreme Court. 

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• Bernard Tapie