Former IMF chief to sue Belgian pimp over 'DSK' brothel

Former IMF chief to sue Belgian pimp over 'DSK' brothel

PARIS - Dominique Strauss Kahn is suing a Belgium-based pimp linked to sex parties the disgraced former IMF chief attended for opening a brothel that bears the initials 'DSK', his lawyers said Wednesday.

The pimp, Dominique Alderweireld or "Dodo la Saumure", relished the challenge, saying it would bring publicity.

Strauss-Kahn, a potential presidential contender in the 2012 French election whose chances were dashed by a New York sex scandal involving a hotel maid, is well known by his initials DSK in France and neighbouring French-speaking countries such as Belgium and Switzerland.

That would also be the acronym for a new brothel 'Dodo Sex Klub' which is set to open in the town of Blaton in Belgium, where prostitution and brothel ownership are legal.

French-born Alderweireld is accused of aggravated pimping and supplying prostitutes to Strauss-Kahn - a charge he denies.

Strauss-Kahn's lawyers said they were suing the 64-year-old pimp for deliberately choosing a name that "reproduces his (Strauss-Kahn's) initials which identify him to all."

Alderweireld was unfazed by the announcement. "All the better, it will bring publicity," he said. "It amuses me. Let's see if they win in Belgium."

He had earlier told AFP that the name of the establishment, which will be staffed by "seven girls, of whom one is a transsexual" was "commercially brilliant... as everybody talks about DSK".

Strauss-Kahn was forced to resign as head of the International Monetary Fund following his 2011 arrest for an alleged sexual assault on a New York hotel maid.

Criminal charges in the case were dropped and at the end of 2012, Strauss-Kahn settled a civil suit brought by the maid by paying her undisclosed damages, which reportedly exceeded US$1.5 million.

Alderweireld has said he plans to open another sex establishment in Belgium called the Carlton, the name of a posh hotel in the northern French city of Lille where Strauss-Kahn attended sex parties.

Strauss-Kahn's lawyers insist he had no idea the women taking part in the parties were prostitutes. But prosecutors say he was central to the organisation of what amounted to orgies.

Last August, a French judge sent Strauss-Kahn and 12 others - including Alderweireld - to trial on charges of aggravated pimping as part of an organised gang.

A ruling is expected sometime this year.

Saumure, meaning brine, is the salt oil that fish in this part of Europe are often served in, especially mackerel - the French slang for pimp.

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