Putin: IMF head victim of conspiracy

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/182433.html

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says the sexual assault case against former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn could be a conspiracy to tarnish his image ahead of French elections.

Putin said the controversial charges against the former director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is hard to accept, adding that he is worried that Strauss-Kahn might be the victim of a plot to discredit him and stop him from running for president in France.

"It is hard for me to evaluate the real political underlying reasons and I do not even want to get into that subject, but I cannot believe that everything is as it seems and how it was initially presented," Putin told Interfax news agency, quoted by the Daily Telegraph.

"It does not sit right in my head."

A French politician earlier claimed that Strauss-Khan, just days before his arrest, had said he believed Putin was plotting to oust him from his position as head of the IMF.

"He said the Russians and notably Putin had allied themselves with France to try to have him fired from the IMF to stop him running for (French) president," Claude Bartolone, a socialist politician, said, according to the Telegraph.

Strauss-Kahn is awaiting a grand jury decision on whether to indict him on charges of sexual assault and attempted rape of a 32-year-old Manhattan hotel chambermaid.

Strauss-Kahn was arrested on May 14 over allegations that he had sexually attacked the cleaning lady at a luxury hotel near Times Square.

He was expected to declare his candidacy for the French presidency soon and considered as a strong contender to defeat President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's elections.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, could face 5 to 25 years in prison if convicted.

'Ex-IMF chief will be cleared of charges'

Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/181281.html

Former chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be cleared of charges of attempted rape against a New York hotel maid, his lawyer asserted.

Strauss-Kahn's main attorney, Benjamin Brafman, has announced that his client will plead not guilty and would be cleared of recent sex assault charges, AFP reported.

"Nothing is certain, but from what I've discerned in the investigation, he will be acquitted... He has impressed me very much. Despite the circumstances, he's doing well,” Brafman stated.

There has been no announcement on whether the police have discovered any DNA evidence that would prove the high-profile Frenchman guilty of the seven charges brought against him by the New York Police Department, including the alleged rape of the 32-year-old female employee at the Sofitel hotel in New York.

However, prosecutors at last week's bail hearing have insisted that the evidence compiled in the case supports the woman's claims.

The former French finance minister, who has rejected all charges against him, has paid $1 million in cash and has deposited a $5 million insurance bond in order to secure his release on bail.

Strauss-Kahn will have to appear in court on June 6 to formally enter his plea. His full trial may still be months away.

Strauss-Kahn resigned as managing director of IMF on Wednesday amid concerns over the future of ongoing talks about the euro zone debt crisis.

He was also expected to declare his candidacy for the French presidency soon and was considered as a strong contender against the current President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's presidential election.

Benjamin Brafman is a New York-based criminal defense attorney who maintains a criminal defense firm, the Brafman Associates.

Brafman has handled cases for clients including Michael Jackson, Sean Combs, Peter Gatien, James Patino, and Vincent Basciano.

Strauss-Kahn's security conditions for his bail costs over $200,000 a month.

Geithner: Strauss-Kahn cannot run IMF

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/180511.html

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has questioned the International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief's competency, saying he doubts Dominique Strauss-Kahn can lead the organization.

"He's obviously not in the position to run the IMF," AFP quoted Geithner as saying on Wednesday.

Addressing the Harvard Club in New York on Tuesday, Geithner said the IMF's executive board should designate an interim head.

Geithner's remark came in the wake of Strauss-Kahn's sexual scandal, which may put the embattled French official behind bars.

The 62-year-old French politician was arrested on charges of sexual assault against a hotel maid on Saturday.

A New York court then jailed him in notorious Rikers Island jail after his bail was denied by a judge.

On Monday, Strauss-Kahn pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him.

He, however, would be kept in solitary confinement until his next court session on Friday.

Strauss-Kahn faces charges including attempted rape, sex abuse, criminal sex act, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching. He could face 5 to 25 years in prison.

This is the first time a senior official from US President Barack Obama's administration has publicly spoken about the issue. However, Geithner refused to comment on the case or the details of the charges against Strauss-Kahn.

The IMF chief was detained onboard a plane on Saturday before flying to the French capital, Paris.

The IMF is the intergovernmental organization which oversees the global financial system through the macroeconomic policies of its member countries.

IMF chief charged with 'attempted rape'

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director General Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/179974.html

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director General Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been formally charged with sexual assault after attacking a maid in a New York hotel, police say.

The charges included "criminal sexual act, unlawful emprisonment, attempted rape" and "assaulting a 32-year-old girl in a hotel room," Ryan Sesa, a police deputy spokesman, told reporters.

Strauss-Kahn was arrested earlier on Saturday after being taken off an Air France passenger plane at a New York airport, just as the plane was preparing for take off.

He was accused of a "sex attack" on a maid at a Times Square hotel earlier in the day.

The Port Authority officers were informed by the New York Police Department, whose detectives had been investigating report of a brutal attack on a woman employee at the hotel Sofitel New York, in the heart of the city's theater district.

Strauss-Kahn was scheduled to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Sunday to discuss an aid package for debt-laden Greece.

He was then due to attend a meeting of EU finance ministers on Monday and Tuesday in Brussels.

Strauss-Kahn is a former economics professor and was being touted as a prospective candidate for the Socialist Party in their challenge to incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy in the April 2012 French presidential election.

Married to a prominent television news reporter, Strauss-Kahn was enmeshed in a controversy after accusations arose about his sexual relationship with a senior official of the IMF's Africa Department in 2008.

The IMF is the intergovernmental organization that oversees the global financial system through the macroeconomic policies of its member countries.