Paris: French tycoon Bernard Tapie claimed Friday he was "ruined" after being ordered to repay more than 400 million euros ($430 million) he had been awarded in an acrimonious dispute with Credit Lyonnais bank.
"I am ruined. Ru-ined. Absolutely on ruined street. I haven't got a thing," 72-year-old Tapie said.
The Paris appeals court on Thursday rejected Tapie's claim that the now-defunct bank had defrauded him on the sale of the sportswear giant Adidas in the early 1990s.
Tapie was awarded the money by an arbitration panel in 2008 after accusing Credit Lyonnais -- which has since been privatised -- of undervaluing Adidas when he sold the company in 1993.
But that ruling was clouded in scandal and picked over for years in the courts before being overturned in February.
In a hearing in September, Tapie had demanded damages of between 516 million and 1.2 billion euros.
But the court of appeal ruled Thursday that the sale price of Adidas "corresponded to the actual value of (the company) when it was sold".
Tapie claimed Friday he had never actually received the money that he has been asked to repay.
"It's unbelievable, the court is asking me to repay astronomical sums that I haven't even received... They are going to put me into bankruptcy," he said.
The flamboyant Tapie appealed to the state, which runs the body charged with overseeing the former assets of Credit Lyonnais and which will receive the money he must repay, to step in.
"It is them, and only them... who can correct the judges' implausible decision," he said.
Tapie's lawyer Emmanuel Gaillard described the court's decision as "a pure and simple denial of justice" and said he was looking at every legal avenue "so that justice can finally prevail in this case".
Tapie -- who has also dabbled in acting -- bought Adidas in the early 1990s but sold it to focus on his political career.
With Credit Lyonnais handling the deal, Adidas was re-sold in 1994 to businessman Robert Louis-Dreyfus for a substantially higher sum, and floated on the French stock exchange in 1995 -- leading Tapie to claim that the bank had failed in its duty of care.
AFP
