Banker Suicide: DSK's Hedge Fund Partner Jumps From 23rd Floor Apartment

Thierry Leyne, the French-Israeli entrepreneur who last year started an investment firm with former International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has committed suicide.

Leyne, 48, jumped off the 23rd floor of one of the Yoo towers, a prestigious residential complex in Israel, reports NYT.

Bloomberg reports:

Last year, Leyne joined Strauss-Kahn in establishing the Paris-traded firm Leyne, Strauss-Kahn & Partners after the former IMF head bought a 20 percent stake to help develop the investment-banking franchise of Leyne’s company, Luxembourg-based Anatevka SA. Leyne had taken Anatevka public in March 2013 before joining forces with Strauss-Kahn, commonly referred to in France as DSK.

The new partnership -- usually called LSK & Partners by using both men’s initials -- was part of Strauss-Kahn’s efforts to rebuild his post-IMF life after he was charged in 2011 of criminal sex, attempted rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and the forcible touching of a chambermaid at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan. Strauss-Kahn denied the charges, which were later dropped. He settled the maid’s lawsuit in 2012.

Here We Go, Another Alleged Strauss-Kahn Sexual Attack

This sounds very credible. The Guardian reports:

...[F]urther allegations against him were broadcast on French television on Sunday night.

A local official of the Socialist party claimed that Strauss-Kahn had attacked her daughter, who is goddaughter to Strauss-Kahn's second wife, in 2002.

Tristane Banon was in her 20s and writing a book when she approached Strauss-Kahn for an interview in 2002. In a TV programme in 2007, in which Strauss-Kahn's name had been bleeped out, Banon allegedly described him as a "rutting chimpanzee" and described how she was forced to fight him off. "It finished badly … very violently … I kicked him," Banon said. "When we were fighting, I mentioned the word 'rape' to make him afraid, but it didn't have any effect. I managed to get out."

Banon consulted a lawyer, but did not press charges. "I didn't want to be known to the end of my days as the girl who had a problem with the politician."

Banon's mother, Anne Mansouret, told journalists on Sunday night she had dissuaded her daughter from legal action because she believed Strauss-Kahn's behaviour had been out of character and because of close links with his family. "Today I am sorry to have discouraged my daughter from complaining. I bear a heavy responsibility," she said.

IMF Chief's Hearing Delayed Until Monday

The arraingnment of IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been delayed until Monday as Strauss-Kahn has consented to provide a DNA sample and have his body examined for scratches.

"Our client willingly consented to a scientific and forensic examination," Strauss-Kahn's lawyer William Taylor said. Strauss-Kahn is "tired, but he's fine," Taylor continued.


Strauss-Kahn as he was being escorted by the NYPD to a NY hospital where he will be examined for scratches and a DNA sample taken.

Will Israel's Central Bank Prez Become the Next IMF Head?

Nouriel Roubini earlier today put out a tweet listing potential candidates that might succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn following charges that Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted a New York City hotel maid,  now Robini is falling over himself, adding Israel's central bank head, Stan Fischer, to the list. Roubini thumbs:

 Add to the list of EM candidates for IMF's MD the brilliant Stan Fischer formerly #2 at the IMF and now head of the Israeli central bank.

Sounds like Fischer wants the job real bad.

Idiot Strauss-Kahn Returns to the Scene of the Crime

Or at least the way it is done in the digital age.

IMF Chief Dominque Strauss-Kahn, who allegedly sexually attacked a hotel maid at the New York City Sofitel Hotel, left his cell phone behind in his hotel suite in his haste to leave the scene of the crime. He fled to JFK Airport to attempt to flee to France. Police hauled him off an Air France flight.

Police were able to locate him so quickly because he called the hotel about his cell phone.

According to WSJ:

 A key moment came, police said, when Mr. Strauss-Kahn called the hotel to ask if he had left his cellphone there. A hotel security official fibbed and said he did have the phone—then asked for Mr. Strauss-Kahn's location to meet him and return it. Police made the arrest at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, where Mr. Strauss-Kahn had boarded a flight for France.

In other developments,  Strauss-Kahn's arraignment has been delayed late Sunday becasue police sought a search warrant to examine the IMF chief's body for scratches or the accuser's DNA, a law-enforcement official told WSJ.

The official said detectives have recovered DNA evidence at the scene.

Next IMF Chief May Be from an Emerging Market

Following the arrest of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on rape charges and a Nouriel Robini defense of Straus-Kahn, Roubini has moved on.

Speculation now centers on the possibility that the next IMF chief may come from an emerging market country. Not missing a beat, the very well connected Roubini thumbs a list of potential  Strauss-Kahn successors:

EM candidates for IMF M[anaging]D[irector]El-Erian, Dervis, Carstens, Sheng, Ahluwalia, Manuel. But US-EU realpolitik may lead to choice of smart Lagarde

Zimbabwe May Go On a Gold Standard; Disses U.S. Dollar

During a weekend that appears to have been designed by Salvador Dali on a Timothy Leary assisted LSD trip, Zimbabwe's central bank president,  Dr Gideon Gono, is calling for Zimbabwe to consider going on the gold standard.

Zimbabwe best known for their inflationary ways (their inflation rate reached 489 billion percent in September 2008) has possibly recognized that the former leader of the bankster world the arrested Dominique Strauss-Kahn is a bankster scam artist and that gold is the only real hard money.

“There is a need for us to begin thinking seriously and urgently about introducing a Gold-backed Zimbabwe currency which will not only be stable but internationally acceptable,” he said in an interview with state media, reports New Zimbabwe.

“We need to re-think our gold-mining strategy, our gold-liberalisation and marketing strategies as a country. The world needs to and will most certainly move to a gold standard and Zimbabwe must lead the way.”

Gono totally dissed the dollar:

Gono said the inflationary effects of United States’ deficit financing of its budget was likely to impact other countries to leading to a resistance of the green back as a base currency.

“The events of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis demand a new approach to self reliance and a stable mineral-backed currency and to me, Gold has proven over the years that it is a stable and most desired precious metal,” Gono said.

What can I say? Call it the Ron Paul impact. After a very bad Keynesian trip, Zimbabwe now recognizes the truth spoketh by Ron Paul.

(Thanks2VireshAmin)

Whoa, Banksters Now Spinning Conspiracy Theories!

Following the arrest of IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on rape charges, banksters are now coming out with conspiracy theories. The well connected Nouriel Roubini has come to the defense of Strauss-Kahn, suggesting that the charges may be the result of a set up by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Before the charges, Strauss-Kahn led in polls against Sarkozy for next year's Presidential election. It was expected to be a very dirty contest.

Roubini thumbed earlier today:

DSK is innocent until proven guilty. One cannot rule out a setup as a smear campaign against him had started in french press close to Sarko

Maid Allegedly Attacked by IMF Chief Strauss-Kahn Worked at Hotel for 3 Years

The New York maid, who alleges that IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her, has worked at the Sofitel Hotel for three years, hotel manager Jorge Tito said in a statement sent from Accor's Paris office

"We would like to point out that our employee worked at the Sofitel New York for three years and was completely satisfactory in terms of her work and behavior," Tito said in a statement.

Strauss-Kahn's attorney Benjamin Brafman emailed EPJ earlier today:

Arraignment later today at 100 Centre St. No comment until then.

Strauss-Kahn's wife, his third, is standing by her man. In a statement she said:

I do not believe for a single second the accusations levelled against my husband. Ido not doubt his innocence will be established. I appeal for restraint and decency.

Merkel, IMF Talks Cancelled after Strauss-Kahn Arrest

Talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and arrested IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, set for Sunday, have been cancelled as the International Monetary Fund will not send a replacement to Berlin, a government source said, according to Reuters.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Hires High-Powered Attorneys

IMF head, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is alleged to have sexually attacked on Saturday a New York City Sofitel Hotel maid, has hired high-powered NYC attorney, Benjamin Brafman.

New York Magazine describes Brafman this way:

A self-described “short Jewish guy” who slept through yeshiva and did stand-up in the Catskills, Ben Brafman has become one of New York’s toughest defense attorneys, winning surprising acquittals for rather long-shot clients..Brafman uses his down-to-earth pedigree to put people at ease. He’ll even joke about his equally down-to-earth stature (he boldly claims five feet six) to score points with juries. “He’s short, and he uses it well,” says criminal-defense lawyer Fred Hafetz, recalling a multi-defendant bid-rigging case he tried with Brafman. “Ben told the jury: ‘The prosecutor wants you to believe this story. I want to be six inches taller. But neither one of us is going to get our wish.’”

His detractors see a darker side, accusing Brafman of using underhanded, albeit legal, courtroom tactics to win, and cynically manipulating the press with carefully orchestrated leaks.

Brafman is working in conjunction with D.C-based attorney William Taylor. Legal Times calls Taylor one of the "10 top criminal defense attorneys in Washington DC."

NYC POLICE: IMF Head to be Arrested on Criminal Sex Act, Attempted Rape and Unlawful Imprisonment Charges

Has IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn lost his mind?

It is anticipated the Srauss-Khan is going to be charged with "committing a criminal sexual act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment," says Paul Browne, deputy New York City police commissioner.

A 32-year-old maid at the Sofitel Hotel in NYC on 44th Street said that at about 1 p.m., she entered Strauss-Kahn's room to clean when he came out of the bathroom naked, pushed her onto the bed and assaulted her.

The only things that makes sense are

1. That Stauss-Kahn ordered up a hooker, told her to come over dressed as a maid, and a real maid walked-in.

OR

2. The maid was giving him a freebie, some other hotel employee walked in, and the maid charged rape.

Either explanation, however, is not likey to help him in the bid to become France's next president.

More details here.

IMF Head Arrested in New York City on Sodomy Charge

Three Port Authority detectives pulled Dominique Strauss-Kahn from the plane’s first-class cabin just two minutes before it was due to depart for Paris, according to police sources said, NyPo is reporting.

More details here.

Head of IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Questioned for Alleged Sexual Assault

Developing...

UPDATE: The head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is being questioned in New York on Saturday and accused of a sexual attack on a hotel maid, NYT reported.

UPDATE 2: Strauss-Kahn was arrested minutes before he was to due to fly to Paris from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

UPDATE 3: Strauss-Kahn was to head from NYC to Paris to Germany to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the PIIGS debt crisis.

UPDATE 4: More details from AP (ViaLaTi):

The 32-year-old woman told authorities that she entered Strauss-Kahn's room at the Sofitel near Manhattan's Times Square at about 1 p.m. Saturday and he emerged from the bedroom naked, threw her down and tried to sexually assault her, Browne said. She somehow broke free and escaped the room and told hotel staff what had happened, authorities said. They called police.

When New York City police detectives arrived moments later, Strauss-Kahn had already left the hotel, leaving behind his cellphone and other personal items, Browne said. "It looked like he got out of there in a hurry," Browne said.

The NYPD discovered he was at the airport and contacted the Port Authority, who plucked Kahn from the Air France flight that had not yet departed.

UPDATE 5 from NyPo:

Three Port Authority detectives pulled Dominique Strauss-Kahn from the plane’s first-class cabin just two minutes before it was due to depart for Paris, according to police sources said.

Strauss-Kahn, 62 — who was expected to challenge Nicholas Sarkozy in the 2012 French presidential election — was turned over to NYPD officers and brought to the Special Victims Unit’s uptown squadroom...

Strauss-Kahn allegedly threw the housekeeper on the room’s bed and forced her to perform oral sex on him, said the sources.

The maid managed to break free and ran to a hotel worker to tell what happened, said a source. Soon afterward, Strauss-Kahn got dressed and headed off to Kennedy Airport for his flight to Paris.

When he was approached on the plane by Port Authority cops, he said, "What is this about?" sources said. He was then taken off without handcuffs.

Two law enforcement sources said Strauss-Kahn was trying to flee the US. Police said he left his cellphone and other personal items in the room.

Strauss-Kahn, who had a meeting planned for today with German chancellor Angela Merkel, has a special arrangement with Air France that allows him to get on any flight and sit in first class, the sources said.

Update 6: Last week, news reports suggested that Sarkozy had begun a smear campaign against Strauss-Kahn, drawing attention to Kahn’s extravagant lifestyle. Strauss-Kahn is also currently suing a French newspaper that claimed he lived an extravagant lifestyle that included luxury homes and suits ordered from Barack Obama’s tailor.

Hours before the incident, an ally in the Socialist Party said, “There is now a totally structured and orchestrated campaign…to attack the character of Strauss-Kahn.”

Update 7: The French press have in the past called Strauss-Kahn, "The Great Seducer"

Update 8: Reuters reports that Strauss-Kahn will plead not guilty.

IMF Chief Calls for Countries to Cede More Sovereignty to EU

The global banksters are on the move. Their operatives are using the currrent debt crises to attempt to put more of the world under their thumb.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the IMF managing director, called on the European Union to move responsibility for fiscal discipline and structural reform to a central body that is free from the influences of member states.

He told attendees at the Sixth European Central Banking Conference in Frankfurt, Germany, that:

The wheels of co-operation move too slowly. The centre must seize the initiative in all areas key to reaching the common destiny of the union, especially in financial, economic and social policy. Countries must be willing to cede more authority to the centre.

Think Big Brother on steroids. The banksters won't be happy until every financial transaction in the world is regulated by them and where global taxes become simply a way to pay off their bad investments. 

IMF Chief: It's a Government Manipulated Recovery

International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Sunday the world economy was not "out of the woods" despite a faster recovery in developing and emerging countries than earlier forecast, reports Reuters.

"You see growth resuming almost everywhere but that almost everywhere these growth figures are related to public support and private demand remaining rather weak and not strong enough.


Until private demand is sustainable to provide growth it will be difficult to say the crisis is over," he added.

Strauss-Kahn said that although a double dip could not be ruled out, the IMF did not forecast one.