Dominique Strauss-Kahn: Ex-IMF boss to be freed on bail

Bookmark and Share
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 insurance bond.

He will be confined to a New York apartment under armed guard.

He is due to appear in court on 6 June, when he will formally enter a plea over allegations he tried to rape a hotel maid. He has denied the charges.

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.

He 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.

"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.

Mr Strauss-Kahn's wife, Anne Sinclair, who was in court for Thursday's hearing, is said to have rented an apartment in New York where her husband will be confined.

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.

source : bbc.co.uk

{ 0 comments... Views All / Send Comment! }