French prosecutor calls charges against Strauss-Kahn to be dropped

French prosecutors in Lille on Tuesday asked for the dismissal of charges against former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in an alleged hotel prostitution ring, local media said. Prosecutor Frederic Fevre explained that there was not enough evidence supporting the charges, which means a possible acquittal for Strauss-Kahn indicted in the case for alleged "aggravated pimping by an organized gang." However, media reports said the prosecutor's speech does not necessarily dictate the final decision of the judges who could assign criminal responsibility to the former IMF chief, who had allegedly participated in "libertine" parties held at the Carlton Hotel in Lille. Strauss-Kahn had been questioned over his alleged involvement in the illegal prostitution ring that supplied women to clients in the city's luxury hotel and for abuse of corporate funds. He did not deny attending the parties, but insisted that he did not know the young women at the parties were being paid for sex, according to his lawyer. Strauss-Kahn was forced to quit the IMF and keep away from French political life after he was under judicial investigation over charges of sexual assault and attempted rape of a hotel maid in New York in 2011.