Former IMF boss Strauss-Kahn to be tried for pimping

Former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be tried for pimping, prosecutors said yesterday, capping an inquiry into sex parties attended by a man whose French presidential hopes were dashed by a separate 2011 US sex scandal.

Prosecutors in the northern city of Lille said investigating judges had determined Strauss-Kahn, 64, who has been under investigation since 2012, should be judged by a criminal court.

The decision came as a surprise after a public prosecutor recommended in June the inquiry be dropped.

“We’re not in the realm of the law, we’re in ideology. We’re sending someone to court for nothing,” said Henri Leclerc, one of Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers.

The so-called Carlton affair, named after a hotel in Lille, involves sex parties Strauss-Kahn has acknowledged attending. He says he was unaware the women involved were prostitutes.

Strauss-Kahn is charged with “aggravated pimping”. Pimping in French law is a broad crime that can encompass aiding or encouraging the act of prostitution. Strauss-Kahn was charged with the more serious form because it allegedly involved more than one prostitute.

The crime carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison and a fine of €1.5m.