Ex-IMF chief Strauss-Kahn to be tried for pimping

One time favourite to be French president has admitted attending Lille sex parties

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be tried on charges of pimping, prosecutors said today.

The news comes after an inquiry into sex parties attended by mr Strauss-Kahn, whose French presidential hopes were dashed by a separate 2011 US sex scandal.

Prosecutors in the northern city of Lille said investigating judges had determined that Mr Strauss-Kahn (64), who has been under investigation in the case since 2012, should be judged by a criminal court.

The decision came as a surprise after a public prosecutor had recommended in June that the inquiry be dropped without trial.

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"We're not in the realm of the law, we're in ideology. We're sending someone to court for nothing," said Henri Leclerc, one of Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyers.

The so-called Carlton affair, named after a hotel in Lille, involves sex parties that Mr Strauss-Kahn has acknowledged attending. He says he was unaware that the women who participated were prostitutes.

Mr Strauss-Kahn is charged with “aggravated pimping.” Pimping under French law is a broad crime that can encompass aiding or encouraging the act of prostitution. Mr Strauss-Kahn was charged with the more serious form because it allegedly involved more than one prostitute.

The crime carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison and a fine of €1.5 million.

The former French finance minister quit his post as head of the International Monetary Fund in 2011 after being accused of raping a maid in New York, a charge that was later dropped.

Reuters