French Court: Former IMF Leader Is Not a Pimp

Dominique Strauss-Kahn will have to stick to a career in finance, if he can ever find another regular job again.

A French court determined on Friday that the former International Monetary Fund chief didn’t have a side gig as a pimp, while also trying to save the world from the 2008 financial crisis. The charges of “aggravated pimping” against Strauss were dropped.

In court, Strauss-Kahn said that he did attend sex parties that were set up to recreate what an orgy would have been like in antiquity, but he didn’t set up the parties, hire the attendees, or make money off them. A judge agreed there was insufficient evidence to prove that Strauss set up the parties.

Instead, Strauss-Kahn basically said the old-school orgies were something he did to blow off steam, during a particularly stressful time for himself and the world economy. Strauss-Kahn took over the IMF in mid-2007, and resigned in 2011 after being arrested by New York City on sexual assault charges. No word on whether that incident was stress related. In court, Strauss-Kahn called the sex parties “recreation sessions.” Former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner often went on long morning runs during the financial crisis. So similar, but French.