Dominique Strauss-Kahn, director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the France's presidential hopeful was arrested on charges of rape, criminal sexual act and unlawful detention, police in New York and the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday.
His personal lawyer, William Taylor, confirmed that Mr. Strauss-Kahn has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The arrest is changing the course of the presidential elections in France next year, likely to deprive the Socialist Party candidate promising and improves the chances of re-election of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"Whatever the outcome of the procedure is, [Strauss-Kahn] would not be able to run for president," said Jacques Attali, former adviser to the late French socialist president Francois Mitterrand.
The arrest of Mr. Strauss-Kahn, 62, police arrested the first class section of Air France plane minutes before leaving New York to Paris on the evening of Saturday, also throw into chaos the guidance of the International Monetary Fund, whose absence has played a key role in helping Europe's leaders treat the continent's debt crisis.
A police officer in New York, said Strauss-Kahn, was arrested Saturday night after being removed from the aircraft of Air France. Strauss-Kahn would have required a maid in her bed and sexually assaulted her at about 13:00 on Saturday in his room at the Sofitel Hotel near Times Square, the official said.
Strauss-Kahn would have allowed the woman to leave and then went to the airport, the official said. The staff alleged victim who then alerted the authorities informed, the official said. Strauss-Kahn, left personal belongings left in his hotel room, including a cell phone, the official added. counsel for Mr. Strauss-Kahn in New York and Paris did not immediately return telephone or e-mail seeking comment.
"Mr. Strauss-Kahn retained counsel, and the IMF did not comment on the case," the IMF said in a statement. "The IMF remains fully functional and operational."
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