IMF chief Lagarde faces embezzlement investigation

PARIS - A French court gave the green light on Thursday for an embezzlement investigation targeting new International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

Lagarde, who took up her new post last month, has denied any wrongdoing or illegality in a case that resulted in a big compensation payment for a private businessman out of public funds in 2008 when she was France's finance minister.

The IMF's executive board immediately expressed confidence in the 55-year-old, whose immediate predecessor at the organization, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, resigned after he was accused of attempted rape.