<p>Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is being questioned by French police as a suspect in a prostitution ring inquiry, a prosecutor has said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Strauss-Kahn, once a front-runner for the French presidency, is being held in custody at a police station in Lille, northern France, the BBC reported Tuesday.<br /><br />Police have questioned a number of prostitutes who have admitted having sex with Strauss-Kahn. But he insists he did not know that those women were prostitutes.<br /><br />"I challenge you to distinguish a naked prostitute from any other naked woman," Strauss-Kahn's lawyer Henri Leclerc told French television.<br /><br />In May 2011, Strauss-Kahn resigned as head of the IMF after he was charged in New York with attempted rape of a hotel maid. The case was later dropped.<br /><br />French police, in this separate inquiry, have already arrested eight people over suspicion of organising a prostitution ring and misusing corporate funds to pay for sex. <br /><br />Three of the suspects were said to have been close to Strauss-Kahn, who is said to have participated in sex parties in Paris and Washington in late 2010 and early 2011.<br /><br />According to French media, he could be held by police for up to 48 hours.</p>
<p>Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is being questioned by French police as a suspect in a prostitution ring inquiry, a prosecutor has said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Strauss-Kahn, once a front-runner for the French presidency, is being held in custody at a police station in Lille, northern France, the BBC reported Tuesday.<br /><br />Police have questioned a number of prostitutes who have admitted having sex with Strauss-Kahn. But he insists he did not know that those women were prostitutes.<br /><br />"I challenge you to distinguish a naked prostitute from any other naked woman," Strauss-Kahn's lawyer Henri Leclerc told French television.<br /><br />In May 2011, Strauss-Kahn resigned as head of the IMF after he was charged in New York with attempted rape of a hotel maid. The case was later dropped.<br /><br />French police, in this separate inquiry, have already arrested eight people over suspicion of organising a prostitution ring and misusing corporate funds to pay for sex. <br /><br />Three of the suspects were said to have been close to Strauss-Kahn, who is said to have participated in sex parties in Paris and Washington in late 2010 and early 2011.<br /><br />According to French media, he could be held by police for up to 48 hours.</p>