International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has been convicted over her role in a controversial €400m (£355m) payment to a businessman.
French judges found Ms Lagarde guilty of negligence for failing to challenge the state arbitration payout to the friend of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The 60-year-old, following a week-long trial in Paris, was not given any sentence and will not be punished.
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Christine Lagarde in court over €400m payout to French tycoon
Christine Lagarde in court over €400m payout to French tycoon
The Court of Justice of the Republic, a special tribunal for ministers, could have given Ms Lagarde up to one-year in prison and a €13,000 fine.
The ruling, however, risks triggering a new leadership crisis at the IMF after Ms Lagarde’s predecessor Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned in 2011 over a sex assault scandal.
Ms Lagarde, who was French finance minister at the time of the payment in 2008, has denied the negligence charges.
Ericson Report 