French telecommunications group Orange has confirmed the resignation of its Chairman and CEO Stéphane Richard and said it will have a new governance structure in place by 31 January 2022.

This follows a recent verdict by a Paris Appeal Court that found Richard guilty of complicity of misuse of public funds during his time as part of the French government serving as chief of staff to France’s former Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.

The court also handed Richard a one-year suspended sentence and a fine of €50,000.

A statement released by Orange reads: “Following the verdict reached by the Paris Appeal Court, the Orange group’s Board of Directors met and took note of Stéphane Richard's decision to hand over his mandate as Chairman and CEO. The Board has accepted his resignation. This will take effect once the new governance structure has been appointed and at the latest by 31 January 2022. Stéphane Richard will continue in his role until this date.”

Appointed in 2011 Richard has led Orange for a decade and, according to the company, played crucial roles in “restoring an appeased working environment after the social crisis to the transformation of Orange into a leading multi-service operator in Europe and Africa”.

The Group confirmed that it has already initiated the recruitment process to appoint and implement the new governance.

It added that in 2020 Orange Middle East and Africa generated revenues of€5.8-billion and amassed a customer base of over 130 million.