Dominique Strauss-Kahn in Police Custody to Answer Questions about Prostitution Ring
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is once again making headlines, as he was taken into custody by police to answer questions about a possible prostitution ring operating out of Lille, France. According to a spokeswoman at the prosecutor’s office in Lille, Strauss-Kahn presented himself to police at 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
The spokeswoman said that Strauss-Kahn could be held for up to 48 hours and is being questions about his complicity in the alleged prostitution ring, as well as “aiding and abetting in the misappropriation of company assets.”
Lawyers for the former head of the International Monetary Fund said that Strauss-Kahn has repeatedly asked for prosecutors in the case to question him as soon as possible because he is ready to end the “press lynching.’ His lawyers, however, have not made a statement about what happened on Tuesday yet.
Police in Lille are investigating the alleged prostitution ring and have formally charged eight people. Included in those eight people are a former head of a French company and a police commissioner. Prosecutors say that the company head was listing the costs of the services from the prostitutes as expenses for the business. All eight face charges of involvement in the ring, but others also face charges of misappropriating company assets and fraud.
Paying for the services of a prostitute is not illegal in France. However, using corporate funds to pay for those services is illegal. According to media reports in France, Strauss-Kahn has attended parties that were held by those in charge of the prostitution ring.
Strauss-Kahn could be released without any charges or he could be facing some preliminary charges. Prosecutors could release on his own recognizance if he was charged or he could be detained.
Strauss-Kahn was once a French presidential hopeful; however, his arrest in the United States on charges of sexual assault dashed all of those plans. He resigned as the head of the IMF while in police custody. The charges were eventually dismissed after U.S. prosecutors determined that the victim and witness in the case were not credible. Strauss-Kahn has also faced similar charges in France stemming from an encounter with a French novelist. That case was dropped when it was determined that the statute of limitations had expired.
