flash

Criminal charges brought against IMF chief

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-15 07:43

The media is seen outside the NYPD SVU headquarters New York May 14, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

Impact on IMF

The allegation will be a major worldwide embarrassment to the IMF, which has authorized billions of dollars in lending programs to troubled countries and has played a major role in the euro zone debt crisis.

It follows the announcement on Thursday the IMF's No. 2 official, John Lipsky, plans to step down in August when his term ends.

The IMF managing director has yet to say whether he will run for president, although French opinion polls put him as a clear winner over conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy if the two faced off in an election.

"The NYPD realized he had fled, he had left his cell phone behind," Browne said. "We learned he was on an Air France plane. They held the plane and he was taken off and is now being held in police custody for questioning."

The maid "was brought by EMS (emergency medical services) to the Roosevelt Hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries," Browne said.

Strauss-Kahn was on his way to Europe for a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday.

The woman has not been named.

Strauss-Kahn took over the International Monetary Fund in November 2007 for a five-year term scheduled to end next year.

Before that, he was a French finance minister, member of the French National Assembly and a professor of economics at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.

The IMF declined to comment and IMF board officials told Reuters they had not been informed officially of the incident.