The International Monetary Fund head
said such companies “will use their enormous customer bases and deep
pockets to offer financial products based on big data and artificial
intelligence”.
“This presents a unique systemic
challenge to financial stability and efficiency,” she added.
Christine Lagarde cited China as a most recent example.
She said: “Over the last five
years, technology growth in China has been extremely successful and allowed
millions of new entrants to benefit from access to financial products and the
creation of high-quality jobs.
“But it has also led to two firms controlling more than 90% of the mobile payments market.”
Disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has appeared in public for the first time with his new girlfriend Myriam L’Aouffir on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival 2013.
It was confirmation that the pair are together, following DSK’s split last year from his long-suffering wife of 20 years, Anne Sinclair.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Myriam L’Aouffir were rumored last September to have started dating but this appearance appeared to be the first public confirmation. They attended the screening of a French film, Full Sun, starring veteran actor Alain Delon.
At 43 years-old, Myriam L’Aouffir is 20 years younger than her infamous economist boyfriend.
Like DSK, Myriam L’Aouffir comes from a Moroccan background, and is also believed to be estranged from her husband, with whom she has two children. She works in marketing.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn last December agreed a financial settlement with hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo whose 2011 allegation of s***al assault forced him to resign from the International Monetary Fund.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has appeared in public for the first time with his new girlfriend Myriam L’Aouffir on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival 2013
DSK – once tipped as a Socialist French president – was accused of trying to rape chambermaid Nafissatou Diallo at a Sofitel Hotel in New York.
After being held in the NYC’s notorious Rikers Island prison, criminal charges were dropped.
DSK then returned to France last year only to face accusations of s***ally abusing a young French writer.
French judges agreed there was a case against DSK, but had to drop it because the alleged attack happened more than a decade ago.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn was then charged with conspiring with pimps in Lille, northern France, to procure girls for s** parties around the world.
A film starring Jacqueline Bisset – who plays his former wife Anne Sinclair – and Gerard Depardieu as DSK which recreates the drama around the 2011 incident is expected to be released later this year.
DSK’s New York arrest ultimately destroyed his ambitions for the French presidency.
A gifted orator, fluent in English and German, DSK had been seen as a likely challenger to president Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2012 election, won by Francois Hollande.
Christine Lagarde has arrived at a court in Paris for questioning over a payout to controversial tycoon Bernard Tapie during her time as finance minister.
The IMF chief is being asked to explain her handling of a row in 2007 which resulted in some 400 million euros ($516 million) being paid to Bernard Tapie.
She is appearing before the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), which investigates ministerial misconduct.
Christine Lagarde insists the award was the best solution at the time.
“It’s a pleasure to see you,” a smiling she told reporters upon arrival.
Christine Lagarde could be placed under formal investigation for the decision to use arbitration, against advice from senior advisers, to settle a long-running court battle between the state and Bernard Tapie, a supporter of the then French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.
Christine Lagarde has arrived at a court in Paris for questioning over a payout to controversial tycoon Bernard Tapie during her time as finance minister
The case stretches back to 1993 when Bernard Tapie, a colorful, controversial character in the French business world, sold his stake in sports company Adidas to Credit Lyonnais.
Soon after the bank sold on that stake for a much bigger profit, Bernard Tapie claimed they had defrauded him.
In 2007, President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested the finance ministry – which had been overseeing the dispute and was led by Christine Lagarde – should move the case to arbitration.
Bernard Tapie won a much bigger payout than he might have expected in court.
Christine Lagarde is not accused of profiting from the payout, but she is being questioned over the misuse of public funds.
If she is placed under formal investigation it is of course embarrassing. It is a step closer to trial but it does not necessarily mean the case will end up in court.
Christine Lagarde is still one of the most popular politicians on the right in France. And after the disgrace that was heaped on the last IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, few in France want to see another prominent French politician embarrassed on the world stage.
Some on the right wonder whether she could be a future candidate for first female French president, notably because she has stayed outside the conservative UMP party’s vicious in-fighting.
Christine Lagarde, a perfect English speaker, has never expressed a desire to run for president. But her five-year term at the IMF is due to finish in 2016 – a year before the next presidential election. With her acumen she may be a dangerous opponent for President Francois Hollande.
The International Monetary Fund has said it continues to have “confidence” in its managing director Christine Lagarde despite a French inquiry into alleged abuses of power.
An IMF spokesman said the fund’s board backed Christine Lagarde.
The probe relates to Christine Lagarde time as French finance minister and her involvement in the payment of compensation to businessman Bernard Tapie.
Christine Lagarde, who took over as IMF chief in 2011, denies any wrongdoing.
Her Paris apartment was searched by police investigators last week.
The IMF continues to have confidence in its managing director Christine Lagarde despite a French inquiry into alleged abuses of power
“The executive board has been briefed on this matter, including recently, and continues to express its confidence in the managing director’s ability to effectively carry out her duties,” said IMF spokesman Gerry Rice at a press conference on Thursday.
Christine Lagarde was involved in a dispute between French businessman Bernard Tapie and the bank Credit Lyonnais in 2007.
She referred the case to an arbitration panel, after which Bernard Tapie switched his support to Nicholas Sarkozy, then leader of Christine Lagarde’s UMP party, in the presidential election campaign.
Bernard Tapie was later awarded 400 million euros in damages by that panel – a decision approved by Christine Lagarde.
Christine Lagarde has yet to be placed under formal investigation in the case and has denied any wrongdoing.
However, the case comes at a difficult time for the IMF.
Christine Lagarde replaced IMF disgraced former chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn less than two years ago.
The IMF is also deeply involved in managing the continuing eurozone crisis, including the bailout of Cyprus.
French police have searched the Paris apartment of IMF chief Christine Lagarde, as they investigate her role in awarding financial compensation to businessman Bernard Tapie in 2008.
As finance minister, Christine Lagarde referred Bernard Tapie’s long-running dispute with bank Credit Lyonnais to an arbitration panel, which awarded him 400 million euros damages.
Bernard Tapie was a supporter of ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Critics say Christine Lagarde abused her authority but she denies any wrongdoing.
“This search will help uncover the truth, which will contribute to exonerating my client from any criminal wrongdoing,” Christine Lagarde’s lawyer, Yves Repiquet, told the Reuters news agency.
Investigators suspect Bernard Tapie was granted a deal in return for his support of President Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2007 election.
There is speculation in France that Christine Lagarde could yet be placed under formal investigation in this case.
As finance minister, Christine Lagarde referred Bernard Tapie’s long-running dispute with bank Credit Lyonnais to an arbitration panel, which awarded him 400 million euros damages
The origins of the case date back 20 years.
Bernard Tapie, who has long been active in French business, sporting and political circles, sued Credit Lyonnais over its handling of the sale in 1993 of sportswear brand Adidas, in which he was a majority stakeholder.
After years in the courts, the case was referred by Christine Lagarde to an arbitration panel in 2007 and she approved its decision to award damages.
Critics said the case should not have been settled by private arbitration, since public money was at stake in the bank, which was part-owned by the state.
The settlement Bernard Tapie received is believed to be a far greater sum than he would likely have received from the courts.
In an interview in January, Christine Lagarde stood by her decision, saying it was “the best solution at the time”.
Christine Lagarde replaced the disgraced IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was arrested in New York in 2011 on allegations of attempted rape.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers settled a civil case for an undisclosed sum and a criminal investigation was dropped by US prosecutors last year.
However, Christine Lagarde’s position at the IMF could be in jeopardy if she is placed under formal investigation.
Christine Lagarde’s term as IMF chief does not expire until 2016, but amid the complexities of Europe’s economic crisis this is a distraction she can ill afford.
Bernard Tapie case
1993: Credit Lyonnais bank handles sale of Adidas, in which Bernard Tapie is a majority stakeholder
1993-2007: Court battle drags on as Bernard Tapie claims Credit Lyonnais undervalued the sale and that he was cheated following the winding-up of the once publicly-owned bank
2007: Bernard Tapie, a former Socialist, switches to support Nicolas Sarkozy in the presidential election. Christine Lagarde, Nicolas Sarkozy’s finance minister, intervenes in the Tapie case to order binding arbitration
2008: Special panel of judges rules Bernard Tapie should receive damages of 285 million euros (400 million after interest added)
2011: Public prosecutor recommends judicial investigation into her actions
A judge in France has rejected a lawsuit filed by former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn which sought to stop the publication of a book written by his former lover Marcela Iacub.
Beauty And Beast (Belle et Bete) outlines Marcela Iacub’s fictionalized account of her affair with DSK.
Although it can now be published, the book will have to include an insert, and Marcela Iacub and her publisher must pay 50,000 euros in damages.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn had complained that he was “horrified” by the book.
“I’ve had enough of people using me. I want one thing only, to be left in peace,” he told reporters after attending a hearing earlier on Tuesday.
DSK was forced to resign as head of the International Monetary Fund after being accused of raping a hotel maid in New York in May 2011.
A criminal investigation was subsequently dropped by US prosecutors, but in December the 63-year-old paid an undisclosed sum to Nafissatou Diallo to settle a civil claim.
DSK is also being investigated in France as part of probe into allegations that he procured prostitutes for sex parties. He denies any wrongdoing.
Marcela Iacub does not name Dominique Strauss-Kahn in her book, but has publicly stated that he is the protagonist, whom she describes as “half man, half pig”.
“You have had a long list of sexual conquests… of mostly vulgar and unattractive women,” she wrote.
“It is one of the authentic and wonderful traits of the true pig, a form of generosity that you show to all women prepared to receive you.”
Beauty And Beast outlines Marcela Iacub’s fictionalized account of her affair with DSK
DSK told the judge that the book was a “violation of the intimacy of private life”.
His lawyers demanded that the book be banned or, failing that, an insert be added to each of the 40,000 copies of the first print-run, which had been due to go on sale on Wednesday. They did not provide details on what they wanted the insert to say.
They also sought 100,000 euros in damages from Marcela Iacub and her publisher, Stock, as well as a front-page apology from Le Nouvel Observateur, a French magazine which published extracts of the book last week.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s estranged wife, the heiress and former television journalist Anne Sinclair, wrote an open letter to Le Nouvel Observateur asking: “How could you stoop so low?”
“You have given credit to the manoeuvres of a perverse and dishonest women driven by her fascination for the sensational and the lure of money,” she added.
The judge ordered the magazine to pay 25,000 euros in damages and to publish the fact that it had been fined.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been spotted with his new girlfriend, Myriam Aouffir, at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.
Myriam Aouffir, 43, is a high-profile press officer for French television.
She has already been seen with DSK on the Mediterranean island of Corsica but now the couple have been pictured lapping up the sun in the holy city.
In May 2011, DSK, 64, was arrested for assaulting a maid at the Sofitel, a midtown Manhattan hotel. Charges were later dropped but it led to revelations about the former IMF chief’s sex life, in which he admitted attending swingers’ parties.
Anne Sinclair, Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s former partner, confirmed she has split from her scandal-hit husband at the end of last month.
Anne Sinclair, 64, originally stuck by DSK after he was embroiled in a catalogue of scandals last year.
But the multi-millionaire heiress finally kicked her husband out of their Paris apartment in June, before immersing herself in a new job running an internet site in the French capital.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been spotted with his new girlfriend, Myriam Aouffir, at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem
The new relationship between Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Myriam Aouffir has been high profile even though they have been together less than a year.
Like DSK, Myriam Aouffir comes from a Moroccan background, and is also believed to be estranged from her husband, with whom she has two children.
Myriam Aouffir, who studied at Montpellier University, has been seeing Dominique Strauss-Kahn for a number of months, according to close friends of the couple.
Anne Sinclair, wife of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has indirectly confirmed that they have separated, after he was embroiled in a sex scandal.
After Anne Sinclair was asked how her personal life was going “since your separation”, she told Le Parisien that she is “in good form”.
There were reports that the high-profile couple had split last month but neither party confirmed the rumors.
Anne Sinclair, a journalist, stood by her husband though a series of scandals.
Anne Sinclair, wife of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has indirectly confirmed that they have separated, after he was embroiled in a sex scandal
In June the couple, both 63, threatened to sue Closer magazine over allegations that they had separated.
DSK was forced to resign from the International Monetary Fund earlier this year after he was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a New York hotel maid.
The charges were eventually dropped, but he has since faced a number of other civil and criminal actions related to sex allegations.
In March, DSK was charged along with two businessmen and a police chief with organizing a prostitution ring for orgies in France and the US, allegations which he denies.
In addition to having to resign from his job at the IMF, DSK had also been the favorite to be the socialist candidate in this year’s French election but had to pull out.
Anne Sinclair, a journalist, heiress and head of the Huffington Post’s French edition, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn were married for some 21 years.
Until recently they had lived in Washington DC, where she had covered US politics for French media.
French magistrates have asked for a new investigation into alleged rape involving former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
The magistrates in Lille are already investigating DSK over his suspected role in a prostitution ring.
A Belgian prostitute has alleged that Dominique Strauss-Kahn and three of his associates gang-raped her in Washington DC in December 2010, French media report.
Prosecutors are now considering whether to expand the current investigation.
French magistrates have asked for a new investigation into alleged rape involving former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn
A second Belgian prostitute has partially confirmed the witness statement alleging gang rape in Washington, but neither has sought to press charges.
Last year DSK abandoned plans to run as the Socialist candidate for the French presidency after he was accused of attempted rape in New York.
Although the criminal case against him was dropped, the affair sank his hopes of becoming president and forced him to resign as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In March 2012, DSK was also placed under formal investigation in France over alleged involvement in a prostitution ring.
DSK has admitted attending parties where the authorities believe prostitutes were provided by a gang, but denies knowing that they were prostitutes.
The three associates named in the Lille investigation along with DSK are businessmen Fabrice Paszkowski and David Roquet and policeman Jean-Christophe Lagarde.
The alleged Washington incident also concerns all four.
There has been no comment yet from Dominique Strauss-Kahn or his lawyers about the latest allegation.
A prosecutor can either dismiss the allegation or order a preliminary inquiry to establish if there is enough prima facie evidence to expand the original investigation, the AFP news agency reports.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has rejected claims by Dominique Strauss-Kahn that his party was behind former IMF chief’s downfall.
Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters DSK should keep quiet and “spare the French his remarks.”
DSK told Britain’s Guardian newspaper that sex allegations against him were orchestrated by opponents.
DSK said although he did not believe he had been set up, events were “shaped by those with a political agenda”.
The Guardian said it was clear that he was referring to people working for Nicolas Sarkozy and his UMP party.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has rejected claims by Dominique Strauss-Kahn that his party was behind former IMF chief's downfall
DSK was forced to stand down as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in May last year when he was arrested in New York and accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid.
The charges were later dropped, but he has since been embroiled in new allegations that he was involved in a prostitution ring.
On the campaign trail Nicolas Sarkozy dismissed DSK’s interpretation of events.
“Enough is enough!” he said.
“I would tell Mr. Strauss-Kahn to explain himself to the law.”
Nicolas Sarkozy is trailing in the polls in the run up to the second and decisive round of France’s presidential election on 6 May.
And he is faced with further damaging allegations about his links to Libya under former leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
A left-wing political website, Mediapart, claims to have documentary evidence that Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign received 50 million Euros ($66 million) from the Gaddafi regime.
The document – dated 2006 and written in Arabic – appears to have been signed by the then Libyan foreign intelligence chief Musa Kusa.
It refers to an “agreement in principle to support the campaign for the candidate for the presidential elections, Nicolas Sarkozy, for a sum equivalent to 50 million Euros.”
The website made similar claims last month.
Nicolas Sarkozy said the claims were “grotesque”, and said that if Muammar Gaddafi had financed his campaign “I wasn’t very grateful” – a reference to the role he played in the former leader’s overthrow in 2011.
US director Abel Ferrara announced that French legend Gerard Depardieu is to star as Dominique Strauss-Kahn in a film about the sex scandal that caused the former IMF chief to resign.
Abel Ferrara told Le Monde newspaper he would be making the film, with Isabelle Adjani playing Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s wife, Anne Sinclair.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn left the International Monetary Fund in May last year after being charged with raping a New York hotel maid.
The case was dropped but ended his ambitions for the French presidency.
Before the scandal, DSK, a former French finance minister, was thought to have had aspirations to run as a Socialist contender for the post.
French writer Tristane Banon later accused DSK of trying to sexually assault her during an interview in 2003, claims he denied. No action was taken because of a three-year statute of limitations but Tristane Banon has indicated she may still file a civil suit.
Abel Ferrara told Le Monde the film would be shot in New York, Paris and Washington.
“In all the places of power: It’s a film about the rich and powerful,” said the director.
US director Abel Ferrara announced that French legend Gerard Depardieu is to star as Dominique Strauss-Kahn in a film about the sex scandal that caused the former IMF chief to resign
The project has long been rumored, but Abel Ferrara confirmed he would be going ahead with it in June, despite the doubts of his producers Wildbunch.
“I am the director. No one is going to stop me talking about my film,” said Abel Ferrara.
Abel Ferrara met Gerard Depardieu, 63, at the Deauville film festival in September and said the French star was everything a director could wish for in an actor.
Abel Ferrara is best known for hard-hitting films dealing with the dark and seedy side of life, such as Bad Lieutenant, starring Harvey Keitel as a corrupt New York policeman with a drug and gambling addiction.
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