21 May,2011 07:30 AM IST | | Agencies
Dominique Strauss-Kahn released on Rs 4.5 crore bail deal and is put up in plush hotel by heiress wife
Dominique Strauss-Kahn was yesterday preparing to swap his dingy Rikers prison cell for a luxury Upper East Side condo, where apartments sell for up to $26 million.
With a 24 hour concierge, swimming pool and daily maid service, The Bristol Plaza in New York is thought to be where the former IMF chief will hunker down as he prepares for his upcoming trial.
Kahn's hotel has a daily maid service, and a swimming pool.u00a0Strauss-Khan's wife Anna Sinclair leaves court with his daughter Camille
His move comes after it emerged the ex IMF chief will receive a generous exit package as well as a $3,18,000
(Rs 1.43 crore) year pension from his former employer.
The disgraced banker was dramatically granted bail yesterday under draconian conditions as it emerged he will face a trial for his alleged sex attack on a hotel maid.
He will be released from Rikers Island prison in New York to the apartment in Manhattan thanks to his third wife, French journalist and millionaire heiress, Anne Sinclair, who raised the necessary $6 million (Rs 27 crore) to satisfy the State Supreme Court yesterday afternoon.
The arrangements to which Strauss-Kahn must abide are still very restrictive, however. He will be subjected to 24-hour monitoring by a security firm paid for by himself and an electronic tag will be fitted on his ankle.
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Video cameras will also be installed in the house and alarms will be fitted on the doors to stop him leaving.
The unusually timed bail application suggested that Strauss-Kahn was struggling with the harsh routine of the notorious prison where he has been held since Monday after having his initial bail offer turned down by a judge.
He has spent the last three nights in solitary confinement at the jail under 24-hour suicide watch wearing a one-piece 'suicide smock' to stop him hanging himself.
IMF ethics
The International Monetary Fund published its new official code of conduct ironically the same day its chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned to face charges of alleged sexual assault in New York. The new ethics rules set guidelines on workplace relationships and sexual harassment, and were approved on May 6 but publicised on Thursday for unclear reasons.
Rs 1.43 cr
Amount Kahn will receive from the IMF per year
Amount Kahn will receive from the IMF per year