French police quizz Strauss-Kahn in fresh sex scandal

California Telegraph Tuesday 21st February, 2012

PARIS - Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was Tuesday questioned by French police in Lille, northern France, as a suspect in a prostitution ring inquiry.

The scandal is the latest sexual allegation surrounding Strauss-Kahn, 62, who was once a front runner for the French presidency.

The probe began in October last year over reports that luxury hotels around Lille served as a base for a high-profile prostitution network.

Eight men have been arrested on suspicion of organising a prostitution ring and misusing corporate funds to pay for sex in a scandal known as the "Carlton affair".

He stepped down last May as IMF boss after a New York hotel maid accused him of sexual assault and attempted rape. The case ultimately fell apart.

He also faced allegations of attempted rape from a young French writer.

Strauss-Kahn is said to have taken part in sex parties in Paris and Washington in late 2010 and early 2011.

French police say he could be held by police for a day or two, according to French media reports.

A number of prostitutes have told police they had sex with Strauss-Kahn, who however, insists that he did not know they were prostitutes.

"I challenge you to distinguish a naked prostitute from any other naked woman," his lawyer Henri Leclerc was quoted as saying on French TV.

Strauss-Kahn has admitted to taking part in orgies arranged by "friends" as part of his "uninhibited sex life". However, he said "he never paid a centime" and never asked if his partners were being paid.