Dominique Strauss-Kahn to be questioned about a prostitution ring

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the disgraced former head of the International Monetary Fund, will be taken in for questioning on Tuesday regarding his involvement in an alleged prostitution ring in northern France, BBC News reported.

Strauss-Kahn, who was charged with raping a chambermaid in a New York City hotel last year, can be held for questioning for up to 48 hours with no charges brought against him, UPI reported. 

The latest scandal involves an alleged prostitution ring and the organization of sex parties at luxury hotels in the city of Lille, BBC reported. It has come to be known as "the Carlton affair," after the name of the hotel where clients were apparently supplied with prostitutes. 

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Magistrates have already charged several prominent figures from Lille in relation to the prostitution ring investigation, Radio France Internationale reported. There are also suspicions that a construction company executive used his firm's money to entertain guests at sex parties in the city, according to RFI. 

Consorting with prostitutes is legal in France but supplying prostitutes to others is illegal, as is officials accepting gifts of any kind from a company, BBC reported. 

Strauss-Kahn could be charged in the case if magistrates find that he was aware the women who took part in the sex parties he is alleged to have attended were prostitutes, RFI reported. DSK's lawyer said his client thought he was participating in swingers' parties, and had no reason to believe the women involved were prostitutes, according to the BBC. 

Strauss-Kahn demanded to be questioned by the judges leading the investigation, in the hope that it would clear his name, according to the BBC. 

Though the rape charges against him were dropped in May, the scandal ended Strauss-Kahn's ambitions to run for the French presidency, and he still faces a civil suit in the case, UPI and the BBC reported. A French inquiry into attempted rape claims against Strauss-Kahn brought by writer Tristane Banon was also dropped.

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