Disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will leave jail on bail on Friday and be placed under round-the-clock house arrest after being indicted for the alleged attempted rape of a New York hotel maid last Saturday. He denies the charges and has vowed to prove his innocence.
European leaders raced on Friday to nominate his successor before a G-8 summit at Deauville, France, on May 26-27, with French economy minister Christine Lagarde appearing the frontrunner. German Chancellor Angela Merkel all but endorsed Ms Lagarde on Friday, telling a Berlin press conference: “Among the names mentioned for the IMF succession is French minister Christine Lagarde, whom I rate highly.”
But while Europe is keen to retain the post, emerging powers like China, India and Brazil have moved quickly to prevent a fait accompli with counter-calls for a more transparent selection process. The OECD head has also said it is time for a change.
Diplomats have also said some European Union nations have questioned whether Ms Lagarde — who if approinted would be the IMF’s first woman head, can be chosen before a special court in France determines next month if she should be investigated in a pending legal case.
Mr Strauss-Kahn, a global high-flier seen as having a strong shot at the French presidency until his arrest, spent the last of four nights at New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail on Thursday. The package of conditions set by a judge on Thursday to let him leave
jail — $1 million cash bail, a $5 million insurance bond and house arrest at a New York apartment under armed guard and electronic monitoring — was due to be signed on Friday.
Once out of the Rikers cell and in the apartment, he will have unlimited access to his lawyers to prepare his defence and will be joined by his wife and daughter.
Under his IMF contract, Mr Strauss-Kahn is entitled to a “separation allowance” of 60 per cent of his last salary and a pension of the same percentage. ABC News has calculated that the “golden parachute” was worth $318,000, with the same amount in pension annually for
the rest of his life.
Mr Strauss-Kahn’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman said at a hearing on Monday that the evidence in the case “will not be consistent with a forcible encounter”. But prosecutor John McConnell said the maid, a 32-year-old asylum-seeker from Guinea, had told a “compelling and unwavering story”.
An arraignment hearing is set for June 6, when Mr Strauss-Kahn will formally answer the charges, but a trial may be six months or more away. If convicted, he could face 25 years in prison.