Breaking story.

Source - Bloomberg

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, once considered a leading contender to win the French presidency next year, resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund after being charged with attempting to rape a New York hotel maid.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, informed the Executive Board of the IMF of his intention to resign as managing director with immediate effect, the IMF said in an e-mailed statement.

Strauss-Kahn’s arrest reshaped the race for the French presidency, eliminating President Nicolas Sarkozy’s biggest rival. His resignation from the IMF, more than 17 months before his term was scheduled to end, may open the field to a candidate from an emerging-market country to run the fund, set up after World War II to promote global financial stability.

Strauss-Kahn denied charges that he attacked a 32-year-old woman at a Sofitel hotel in midtown Manhattan on May 14. He was ordered held without bail by a New York judge after prosecutors said he presented a flight risk. He had been taken into custody and removed from an Air France flight at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The IMF chief is charged with criminal sexual act, attempted rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment, sexual abuse and forcible touching, according to court papers. Strauss- Kahn, a former French finance minister, faces as long as 25 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges, prosecutors said. His lawyer said he will plead not guilty.

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