Courtesy of Tyler Durden
To all those who thought, himself probably included, that DSK would get away scott free from his most recent rape incident (as opposed to the metaphorical rape that the IMF has exercised over the decades over insolvent creditor nations), the Telegraph has one word: wrong. "Dominique Strauss-Kahn was told he does not have diplomatic immunity from prosecution against charges including alleged rape, said Paul Browne, an NYPD spokesman."
According to the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, officials have immunity "with respect to acts performed by them in their official capacity except when the Fund waives this".
The organisation demands that member countries notify it when officials are arrested, so that it can assess whether this applies. It is unclear what Mr Strauss-Kahn was doing in New York.
Under normal circumstances it is the managing director – Mr Strauss-Kahn – who decides whether immunity applies, provided the IMF’s executive board does not veto his decision.
In a short statement, the IMF did not mention immunity and referred enquiries to Mr Strauss-Kahn’s "personal lawyer and to the local authorities" It also appears that Nicolas Sarkozy’s government is not making any attempt to protect Mr Strauss-Kahn.
One unnamed aide has told Le Monde: "To me, there is no immunity. It is a matter for the IMF and the host country, the United States. His Frenchness is not at stake."
Suddenly it looks like the IMF head (this will never get old) is about to be on the receiving end of some involuntary facial inflationary stimulus releases himself courtesy of America’s penal (oops) system.
