New York, May 26: Former chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been relocated in New York, where he will await his upcoming trial on charges of alleged sexual assault.
Late Wednesday, Strauss-Kahn was moved from a temporary New York apartment to a townhouse where he will stay under 24-hour armed guard, Reuters reported.
The relocation of Strauss-Kahn comes after the judge presiding over his case accepted a new residence for him. He is to remain under house arrest until his trial over the alleged sexual assault.
The ex-IMF chief was arrested on May 14 after boarding a Paris-bound passenger plane at a New York airport, just as the plane was preparing for take-off.
He is charged with alleged sexual assault, attempted rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching after allegedly attacking a maid in a New York hotel.
Strauss-Kahn, who has rejected all charges against him, has paid USD 1 million in cash and has deposited a USD 5-million insurance bond in order to secure his release on bail.
He is due to enter a formal plea at an arraignment hearing on June 6, but his full trial may still be months away.
The allegations come as Strauss-Kahn was expected to declare his candidacy for the French presidency.
He was considered as a strong contender against the current French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the European country’s presidential election next year.
Some of Strauss-Kahn’s closest allies, however, claim that the IMF chief was the subject of a smear campaign at a time when opinion polls, including one by French daily le Parisien suggest that 45 percent of the French people will pick him as the country’s next president.
——–Agencies