Ex IMF Chief Strauss-Kahn denies committing crime

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) took the stand in the court in France on Tuesday, where he faced charges of being involved in procuring women for his sex orgies. This was the second day of the trial, which began last week.

"I committed no crime, no offence, " Strauss-Kahn, also known as DSK, said in a letter read out to the court in the northern city of Lille.

The 65-year-old was dressed in a dark navy suit, white shirt and a light gray tie, and appeared with his hands folded on top of a triangular podium in the court in Lille, a city in northern France.

FEMEN protestors appear at DSK trial

Meanwhile, topless protestors of the radical feminist group Femen wearing black slogans painted on their backs threw themselves at Strauss-Kahn's car before police finally managed to pull them away.

Strauss-Kahn was poised to run as a presidential candidate in France when his chances were ruined following accusations that he had sexually assaulted a maid in a New York hotel in 2011.

Criminal charges were dropped in the case, but Strauss-Kahn was soon embroiled in the sex scandal in Lille, also known as the "Carlton affair," after the hotel in Lille which sparked the investigation.

The former economic policy heavyweight was accused of instigating parties involving prostitutes between 2008 and 2011. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers acknowledged that their client took part in sex parties, but said he did not know these women were prostitutes and rejected the charge that Strauss-Kahn was involved in pimping women or "procuring with aggravating circumstances."

If found guilty, he could face a fine of 1.5 million euros ($1.7 millions) and a prison term of up to 10 years.

mg/rg (AFP, Reuters, AP)