The chief of the International Monetary Fund, 62-year-old Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was arrested in New York on Saturday afternoon local time and charged with sexual assault, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment.
His arrest, a dramatic affair, took place as he was preparing to take an Air France flight to Paris from New York’s John F. Kennedy airport. The plane was held back on instructions from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Strauss-Khan was arrested in the First Class cabin just minutes before take off.
He has since been turned over to police for questioning, Paul J. Browne, New York Police Department spokesman told reporters. Police said he did not resist arrest, was not handcuffed and spent the night in custody in a police lock up in Harlem. Mr. Strauss-Kahn has decided to plead not guilty, his lawyers said, when he is produced before a federal judge on Sunday.
The news had the effect of a bombshell not just in France but across Europe and America. Mr. Strauss-Kahn was scheduled to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in Berlin and attend an EU finance minister’s meeting on Monday. He was also expected to attend the next G-8 summit to be held in the French city of Deauville in a week’s time.
According to police reports, a 32-year old chambermaid entered Mr Strauss-Kahn’s suite in the Sofitel Hotel in downtown Manhattan presuming it was unoccupied. The IMF chief who emerged from the shower completely naked first tried to wrestle her to the bed and when she broke free dragged her into the bathroom locking the room, attempting to take off her clothes. She managed to escape and gave the alarm. Police said the chambermaid was driven to hospital in an ambulance and treated for minor injuries. But Mr. Strauss-Kahn allegedly had already left his room when officers entered it. He had left behind several personal effects including his telephone, which led officers to say he had “fled”. This could be deemed an aggravating factor during his trial if there is one.
Mr Strauss-Kahn does not enjoy diplomatic immunity as the head of the IMF but several legal minds including a prominent French lawyer based in New York said it was doubtful whether a judge would file charges given Mr Strauss-Kahn’s position and his political and ministerial profile. Several persons in France including Jean Christophe Cambadelis and Pierre Moscovici both socialist MPs suggested Mr. Strauss-Kahn could have been framed.
However, Jacques Attali, economist, writer and the former head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) hinted Mr. Strauss Kahn’s political career was finished. “No one is irreplaceable and the IMF will carry on as an institution with or without Mr. Strauss-Kahn,” he said.
In a statement issued on Sunday the IMF said it remained “fully functioning and operational”. A Caroline Atkinson, the Fund’s head of external relations issues the communique which also said: “Mr. Strauss-Kahn has retained legal counsel, and the IMF has no comment on the case; all inquiries will be referred to his personal lawyer and to the local authorities.”
A charismatic and brilliant economist who served as France’s finance minister, Mr. Strauss-Kahn was tipped to announce his candidature for the Socialist party primaries in France with a view to contesting the 2012 presidential election in his country. Poll after poll rated him as the only person on the Left of the French political spectrum capable of ousting incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.
However, Mr. Straus-Kahn’s weakness for women is well known and has turned out to be his Achilles heel. In 2008, he was found to be having an affair with Pirojka Nagy, Hungarian economist at the IMF. The affair was investigated by the IMF which found he had not exerted pressure on the woman, but had acted inappropriately. Since then he has been under watch for unacceptable behaviour. Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s arrest and possible forced resignation could overshadow internal IMF discussions on the Greek financial crisis.
