A prosecutor called yesterday for a probe targeting France’s Finance Minister Christine Lagarde in connection with her handling of a high-profile scandal involving tycoon Bernard Tapie.

Prosecutor Jean-Louis Nadal asked the Court of Justice of the Republic, which is authorised to try serving government ministers, to launch a judicial investigation into whether Ms Lagarde exceeded her authority in Mr Tapie’s case.

An aide to Ms Lagarde downplayed the news, saying the prosecutor’s move was “a normal step in the procedure” of legal manoeuvres in the complex case.

“It will allow Madame Lagarde to provide again all the information in her possession and show that this case lacks any basis,” the aide said.

The court has a month to decide whether to take up the probe.

Ms Lagarde, 55, has served as a government minister since 2005 and is a leading figure in handling the global fallout from the 2008 financial crisis and the turbulence in the eurozone.

She intervened in 2007 in a long-running court dispute between Mr Tapie and the major bank Credit Lyonnais, by ordering a special panel of judges to arbitrate in the case.

The panel’s ruling in 2008 obliged the bank to pay Mr Tapie €240 million ($345 million) in damages plus interest and other fines, sparking criticism of Ms Lagarde by opposition lawmakers who demanded an investigation.

Mr Nadal said in a statement he had evidence that gave “several reasons to be suspicious of the regularity and even the legality of the arbitration panel’s litigation settlement, which could constitute an abuse of authority.”

The prosecutor has suggested that the case should not have been settled by private arbitration since public money was at stake in the bank, which previously was partly state-owned.

Mr Tapie, a flamboyant tycoon long active in French business, sporting and political circles, had sued the bank over its handling of the sale in 1993 of the sportswear brand Adidas, in which he was a majority stakeholder.

The prosecutor said a probe could shed doubt on the arbitration, but Mr Tapie himself said yesterday it would make no difference to his victory.

“All this posturing cannot reverse the decision, which is a legal arbitration of last resort. Enough of these fantasies,” he told AFP.

“I am absolutely convinced this will all lead to the conclusion that things were done in a regular manner.”

Concerning Ms Lagarde, he said: “I feel sorry for her. It is not fair.”