French court acquits ex-IMF boss Strauss-Kahn of pimping charges

A French court in Lille on Friday acquitted former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of charges of aggravated pimping and allegedly orchestrating a hotel prostitution ring.

The verdict was expected after a prosecutor called for his acquittal for lack of proof last February.

"They have paraded the man's private life without any respect, without dignity, and without use," Richard Malka, Strauss-Kahn's defense lawyer was quoted as saying by the news channel BFMTV.

Strauss-Kahn who was forced to quit his post in 2011 over sexual assault in a New York hotel, was implicated, upon returning home, in a separate sex scandal, including procuring prostitutes for sex parties in Paris, Lille and Washington from 2008 to 2011.

Those allegations were dismissed by the 66-year-old former economy minister, arguing he was a "libertine" who enjoyed swinger parties, but was unaware the women present were paid prostitutes. He also claimed he had not play any organizational role in an illegal prostitution ring.

Under French criminal law, pimping is punishable with 10 years imprisonment and a 1.5-million euro (1.68 million U.S. dollar) fine. Pimping is defined as an activity which helps prostitution, profiting from, or hiring a person for prostitution.

Strauss-Kahn, who was considered a viable presidential candidate to compete for the country's top job in 2012, saw his political career end after his May 2011 arrest in New York over rape charges made by a Sofitel hotel room-cleaner Naffisatou Diallo.

After charges were dropped, the ex-IMF boss kept his distance from France's political life, leaving the way open to Francois Hollande to win the race to the Elysee Palace three years ago. Endit