Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will face aggravated pimping charges on suspicion of a connection to a prostitution ring at a hotel in Lille, France.
Strauss-Kahn, once a presidential hopeful, has admitted to attending sex parties at the Hotel Carlton but that he was unaware some of the women were prostitutes, according to the BBC.
This decision came as a surprise after French prosecutors recommended last month that the allegations should be dropped.
Strauss-Kahn has been under investigation since 2012 after several people came forward with shocking claims about him, reports Reuters. He was arrested in New York in May 2011 when a maid accused him of attempted rape, a scandal which prompted him to resign as head of the IMF.
The charges were eventually dropped after reaching a settlement. Two other cases against Strauss-Kahn, both sexual in nature, have been dropped.
He was accused of sexual assault in Paris in 2003, but when it was reported it had been too long since the date to pursue a criminal case.
In October 2012, an investigation into a gang rape at a hotel in Washington was closed when the woman involved withdrew her evidence.
In French law, “pimping” is a broad crime, which someone can be charged with for aiding or encouraging the act of prostitution.
Strauss-Kahn was charged with “aggravated” pimping because the crime allegedly involved multiple prostitutes.
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