International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has been ordered to stand trial in France over her role in a 2008 arbitration ruling that handed $434 million to French businessman Bernard Tapie.

Lagarde was French finance minister at the time. She has denied wrongdoing, and after years of investigation, a prosecutor in September argued that the case against her should be dropped.

But the Court of Justice of the Republic on Thursday announced it has decided to send her to trial. It is a special court for trials of government ministers.

Her lawyer, Yves Repiquet, said on i-Tele television that he plans to appeal the decision.