France:Lawyers for disgraced former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn (62) say he is being hounded for his "libertine ways" and that they would challenge a judicial inquiry where he is suspected of participating in pimping in France.
Mr Strauss-Kahn’s French lawyers hit back after an overnight announcement that he had been formally put under investigation in a prostitution scandal in the northern city of Lille, on counts that could expose their client to up to 20 years in jail.
Investigators are looking into whether Mr Strauss-Kahn was aware he was dealing with prostitutes and pimps when attending sex parties in Lille, Paris and Washington in 2010 and 2011 that were organised by business acquaintances in the region.
His lawyer, Henri Leclerc, said Mr Strauss-Kahn had taken part in two or three “libertine gatherings” a year over five years “with friends and women who were friends of his friends”.