The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the Fund is not covering the fees related to the defence of IMF Chief, Dominique Strauss- Kahn. In response to an on-line question, the IMF response was "Mr Strauss-Kahn has retained legal counsel on a private basis. The IMF is not covering the fees related to his defence".
Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a maid in the New York hotel Sofitel on Sunday May 15. His overall professional career is at risk including his future plans to run for the president of France. The managing director was ordered on May 16 to be held without bail and is currently at the infamous Riker's jail till his next hearing on Friday.
The Riker's jail complex, operated by the New York City Department of Correction, has a budget of $860 million a year, a staff of 7,000 officers and 1,500 civilians to control an inmate population of around 14,000. Strauss-Kahn assumed office as the tenth Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund on November 1, 2007. Upon being selected by the IMF's Board of Executive Directors, Strauss-Kahn indicated that he would press ahead with reform of the 186-member country institution that helped oversee the global economy.
Earlier, Mr Strauss-Kahn served as Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry of France from June 1997 to November 1999. In this capacity, he managed the launch of the Euro. He is considered a great economist about whom once a journalist said while conducting his interview on November 18, 2010, "Three years ago, when you took over as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, nobody wanted to hear much about the IMF. Yet today you are considered one of the most powerful men in the world".
A recent statement issued by IMF about Dominique Strauss-Kahn says, "IMF staff have clear rules for where they may stay and how much they may be paid on official travel, with an established system of preferred hotels and set rates, negotiated centrally. The Sofitel is not on the list of New York hotels, which are generally standard business hotels. At present, the maximum hotel rate in New York for staff on official business is $386 a night, including tax and service charges...The Managing Director was staying in New York on private business. As such, he pays out of his own pocket for hotels".
The statement also says, "The IMF and its Executive Board will continue to monitor developments." Well-placed sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that the talks between the Pakistani officials and the IMF in Dubai commencing May 11 and expected to end today remain unaffected by the recent incident implicating of Dominique Strauss-Kahn in attempted rape case in New York. IMF in its statement dated May 15 stated, "the IMF remains fully functioning and operational".