IMF head charged over ‘sex crime’

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Mr Strauss-Kahn was removed from a Paris-bound flight just before take-off

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has been charged by New York police over an alleged sex attack on a hotel maid.

Mr Strauss-Kahn was taken off an Air France plane at John F Kennedy airport minutes before it left for Paris.

Police told the BBC he faced three charges, including attempted rape.

The married former French finance minister is also a leading Socialist Party politician and is considered a possible candidate for the presidency.

He is due to attend a meeting of European Union finance ministers in Brussels on Monday to discuss the bailouts of Portugal and Greece.

A spokesman for New York’s Port Authority said they detained Mr Strauss-Kahn at the request of the New York Police Department (NYPD).

He was then taken for questioning by the NYPD, which said he was co-operating fully with their enquiries.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told the BBC Mr Strauss-Kahn had been charged with a criminal sexual act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment relating to an incident involving a 32-year-old woman.

The Frenchman stands accused of a sexual attack on a maid at a Manhattan hotel.

Mr Browne said the allegations had been made by a 32-year-old woman who worked at the hotel, which has been identified as the Sofitel near Times Square.

The woman has been treated at hospital for minor injuries, said Mr Browne.

He said Mr Strauss-Kahn appeared to have left the hotel “in a hurry”, leaving his mobile phone and other personal belongings behind.

The IMF had no immediate comment on the incident.

‘Error of judgement’

Mr Strauss-Kahn ran for leadership of the French Socialist Party in 2006 but lost to Segolene Royale.

He was appointed managing director of the IMF the following year.

Mr Strauss-Kahn has won praise for his stewardship of the IMF, which he has guided through difficult times including the recent world financial crisis.

But in 2008 he was investigated by the IMF board over his relationship with a female member of his staff.

The board ruled his actions “reflected a serious error of judgment” but that the relationship had been consensual. He apologised to IMF staff and his wife, French TV personality Anne Sinclair.

The BBC’s Michelle Fleury in New York says the incident comes at a crucial time for Mr Strauss-Kahn, and could derail any ambitions he might have for France’s top job.

Mr Strauss-Kahn has not yet announced whether he intends to run in the 2012 French presidential elections, but had widely been expected to do so.