PARIS (Reuters) – A French prosecutor on Monday told judges Orange chief executive Stephane Richard should face three years in jail for his alleged involvement in a disputed compensation payment made two decades ago by the state to tycoon Bernard Tapie.

The prosecutor said 18 months of the sentence should be suspended, and that Richard should be barred from working in the public service for five years.

Tapie is locked in a fight over the sale of his Adidas stake in 1993 to Credit Lyonnais, then government-owned, and compensation he won from the state 15 years later.

Richard, who was working at the time as chief of staff to then-finance minister Christine Lagarde, is accused of being complicit in the disputed state payment.

The prosecutor is seeking a five-year jail term for Tapie.