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Strauss-Kahn’s lawyer said the idea of his client skipping bail was “ludicrous”
The former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is due to be released from jail having been granted bail by a judge in a New York court.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn was ordered to post cash bail of $1m (£618,000) and a $5m bond and to be confined to a New York apartment under armed guard.
But reports said a row over where he will be housed had delayed his release.
On 6 June he is set to enter a formal plea to charges he tried to rape a hotel maid. He denies the allegations.
Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, has spent four nights at the notorious Rikers Island prison since his arrest on Saturday over the alleged incident at New York’s Sofitel hotel.
His wife, Anne Sinclair is said to have rented an apartment at the Bristol Plaza apartment building in New York, where her husband will be confined under bail conditions set on Thursday.
But the New York Post reported on Friday that Mr Kahn’s release was delayed because residents of the building had complained about his plans to move into the block.
While Mr Strauss-Kahn had posted his bail, lawyers for the former IMF head said there were still other bail issues to be resolved, Reuters reported.
‘Ludicrous’
Mr Strauss-Kahn was denied bail at a hearing on Monday, but on Thursday he went before a different judge.
The prosecution had argued that the defendant should be denied bail, as he had the means to live “a life of ease and comfort” in parts of the world “beyond this country’s jurisdiction”.
Defence lawyers said their client was honourable and would not try to abscond.
Bail conditions
- Confined to New York apartment rented by wife
- Security firm Stroz Friedberg to oversee monitoring
- Monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week
- At least one armed guard at all times
- Electronic monitoring
- $1m bail, $5m insurance bond
“The prospect of Mr Strauss-Kahn teleporting himself to France and living there as an accused sex offender, fugitive, is ludicrous,” his lawyer, William Taylor, said.
Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus imposed $1m cash bail and said there must be 24-hour home detention, with an armed guard and electronic monitoring.
One armed guard must be deployed at all times, at Mr Strauss-Kahn’s expense, and the defendant must surrender all travel documents, the judge added. In addition to the cash bail, a $5m insurance bond would also apply.
Analysis
Laura Trevelyan BBC News, New York
The Bristol Plaza apartment block on the Upper East Side is a sea of reporters and camera crews awaiting Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s arrival. This smart apartment building, complete with uniformed doormen wearing peaked caps and blue and white hydrangeas in elegant beds by the awning, will be the home of the IMF chief as he fights the charges against him.
Doormen here are escorting residents out of the building with umbrellas and helping them hail cabs in the pouring rain. Mr Strauss-Kahn will be allowed out to attend court and possibly religious services at a nearby synagogue, but otherwise the man who was a contender for the French presidency will be detained here around the clock, wearing an electronic ankle bracelet and under armed guard.
His wife, Anne Sinclair, a former French television news anchor and heiress, has rented this apartment and arranged for the 24-hour security, at an estimated cost of $200,000 (£123,000) per month, according to US legal pundits.
Only a week ago, Mr Strauss-Kahn was head of the IMF and contemplating his political future – and now he is about to begin what could be a prolonged legal process as he tries to clear his name.
Mr Strauss-Kahn has now been formally charged following a grand jury hearing, attended on Wednesday by his accuser, a 32-year-old originally from Guinea in west Africa.
The charges set out by the New York district attorney’s office included four felony counts – two of criminal sexual acts, one of attempted rape and one of sexual abuse – plus three misdemeanour offences, including unlawful imprisonment.
Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance said Mr Strauss-Kahn had been indicted on all the charges presented to the grand jury.
Late on Wednesday, Mr Strauss-Kahn announced his resignation from the IMF. In a statement posted on the IMF website, he said he had resigned with “infinite sadness” but wanted to “devote all my strength, all my time, and all my energy to proving my innocence”.
His resignation has sparked debate about his successor, with leading voices in Europe saying another European should head the fund. A number of figures have voiced support for French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.
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Strauss-Kahn ‘bail release delay’