French authorities have searched the Paris apartment of International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde.
The search is part of an investigation into Lagarde's handling of a 2008 compensation payment to a businessman.
At the time, Lagarde was finance minister under former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Investigators are probing claims that Lagarde acted illegally in approving the 285 million-euro ($370 million) arbitration payout to Bernard Tapie, a Sarkozy supporter.
Critics say the settlement was too generous, but Lagarde denies any wrongdoing.
In 2007, she had ordered a panel of judges to arbitrate a long-running dispute between Tapie and the partly state-owned Credit Lyonnais over the mishandled sale of Adidas in the 1990s.
Lagarde was appointed IMF managing director after her predecessor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, quit to face rape charges in New York.
The search is part of an investigation into Lagarde's handling of a 2008 compensation payment to a businessman.
At the time, Lagarde was finance minister under former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Investigators are probing claims that Lagarde acted illegally in approving the 285 million-euro ($370 million) arbitration payout to Bernard Tapie, a Sarkozy supporter.
Critics say the settlement was too generous, but Lagarde denies any wrongdoing.
In 2007, she had ordered a panel of judges to arbitrate a long-running dispute between Tapie and the partly state-owned Credit Lyonnais over the mishandled sale of Adidas in the 1990s.
Lagarde was appointed IMF managing director after her predecessor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, quit to face rape charges in New York.
