Date Published: 05/19/11

Sex Scandal: IMF Chief resigns, denies allegation

The International Monetary Fund said Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as its head following charges against him of sexual assault and attempted rape.

"I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me," Strauss-Kahn said in his letter of resignation, which was
released by the IMF and dated May 18.

"I want to devote all my strength, all my time, and all my energy to proving my innocence."

He will today , for a second time, request release on $1 million cash bail and placement under 24-hour house arrest while he awaits trial on charges of attempting to rape a hotel maid, his lawyers said. He is being held in New York's notorious Rikers Island jail.

"Yes there will definitely be a bail hearing tomorrow," Manhattan District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Erin Duggan told Reuters on Wednesday.

A mug shot of Strauss-Kahn, 62, taken more than 24 hours after he was pulled from a plane and detained on Saturday, showed him exhausted, his eyes downcast and half-closed and wearing a rumpled, open-neck shirt. The photograph may fuel outrage in France over how a man who had been viewed as a strong contender for the French presidency has been paraded before the cameras before he has had a chance to defend himself in court.