Strauss-Kahn Released by French Police But Will Face Judges Again

(NewsCore) - Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn walked free Wednesday from a French police station after two days of questioning about a series of sex parties.

But he was ordered to appear before investigating magistrates at a later date, either to be interviewed under caution as a witness or to face charges linked to prostitution and corruption, a source close to the inquiry said.

During his questioning, Strauss-Kahn told investigators that he did not suspect women he met at orgies were prostitutes as they were introduced to him by senior police officers, officials said.

A source close to the investigation said Strauss-Kahn made the claim during a second day of police interrogation on charges of "abetting aggravated pimping by an organized gang" and "misuse of company funds."

He was also to be quizzed by France's police internal affairs department, the IGPN, which is conducting a separate inquiry into a senior officer, Commissioner Jean-Christophe Lagarde, who has been charged with pimping.

The 62-year-old former Socialist minister, who until last year was the frontrunner to replace Nicolas Sarkozy as president of France, was taken into custody on Tuesday.

Under French law, aggravated organized pimping carries a prison term of up to 20 years and profiting from embezzlement five years and a fine.

Investigating magistrates want to know whether he was aware that women who entertained him at parties in restaurants, hotels and swingers' clubs in Paris and Washington were paid prostitutes.

Strauss-Kahn told his questioners it never crossed his mind because "they were introduced to him by senior police officers," the source said.

They will also ask whether Strauss-Kahn knew the escorts were paid with funds allegedly fraudulently obtained from a public works company by his hosts.

Paying a prostitute is not illegal in France, but profiting from vice or embezzling company funds to pay for sex can lead to charges.

The former managing director of the International Monetary Fund admits he has an uninhibited sex life, but rejects any role in pimping or corruption and has indicated he will deny any criminal wrongdoing.

Lawyer Henri Leclerc has said his client may not have known he was with prostitutes as "in these parties, you're not necessarily dressed. I defy you to tell the difference between a nude prostitute and a nude woman of quality."

Copyright 2012 AFP. All rights reserved.