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French tycoon Bernard Tapie placed under investigation

The controversial business figure faces corruption probe over a huge payout he received to settle a long-running legal battle with French state.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

French tycoon Bernard Tapie has been officially placed under investigation by prosecutors investigating corruption claims, reports the BBC.

He has been in custody since Monday.

The controversial business figure and supporter of former president Nicolas Sarkozy received a huge payout in 2007 to settle a long-running legal battle with the French state.

The head of the IMF, former French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, is a key witness in the case.

She decided to use arbitration to settle the dispute, which ultimately resulted in Mr Tapie receiving compensation of 400m euros (£342m; $516m).

Read more of this report from the BBC.