French Police Search IMF Chief's Apartment

Building believed to contain home of IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, Paris, March 20, 2013.

French investigators have searched IMF chief Christine Lagarde's Paris home as part of an investigation into her role in a controversial arbitration deal that helped a French tycoon.

Attorney Yves Repiquet, a lawyer for the head of the International Monetary Fund, says Lagarde has nothing to hide and welcomes the search.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 23, 2013.

Lagarde was France's finance minister six years ago, when businessman Bernard Tapie won a $400-million settlement with a state-owned bank over the mishandled sale of the Adidas sporting goods company.

Tapie was a supporter of then-President Nicolas Sarkozy, and questions about Lagarde's role in the case were raised before she was appointed IMF chief.

Bernard Tapie is a well-known figure in France who made and lost a fortune buying, running, and selling companies and sports teams.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.