Former IMF leader Strauss-Kahn acquitted in France

Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was acquitted on Friday of charges he participated in “aggravated pimping.”

A court in Lille, France, found no evidence that Strauss-Kahn, 66, had promoted prostitution or profited from it, according to media reports.

Strauss-Kahn had been accused of collaborating with an international vice ring at a hotel in northern France, the location of the alleged prostitution network.

{mosads}Twelve others accused of participating in the vice ring also had charges against them dismissed on Friday.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Strauss-Kahn admitted to partaking in sexual parties similar to ancient orgies because he needed “recreational sessions” while busy “saving the world” during the financial crisis of 2008.

He denied knowing that the female participants were prostitutes, the L.A. Times added, assuming that they were “libertines” instead.

The Times called Friday’s verdict the final chapter in accusations against the former IMF head’s morality, which began in 2011 when New York hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo accused Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her.

Diallo initially filed a civil complaint against Strauss-Kahn accusing him of a “violent and sadistic attack” and “humiliating and degrading behavior.”

She later dropped the case, settling with Strauss-Kahn for undisclosed damages.

The allegations derailed the possibility of the former IMF head seeking the French presidency.

He also was pressured into resigning from the IMF and later divorced his wife, Anne Sinclair, now editor of the French edition of The Huffington Post.

She stood by Strauss-Kahn during American legal proceedings, but the pair split up as more accusations mounted.