IMF looks for way forward in wake of scandal

Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been granted bail by a New York judge, following his arrest and arraignment on sexual assault charges. Strauss-Khan is to be released from prison later today and held under house arrest while he awaits trial. Strauss-Khann’s bail was set at 1 million dollars. Earlier, he resigned his position as head of the International Monetary Fund, and renewed his protestations of innocence.

Meanwhile,

The "acting" Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund has spoken out for the first time about the crisis concerning Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Calling the scandal 'regrettable', John Lipsky focussed on the resilience of the IMF and the process for picking a new Managing director for the Washington, DC – based organization. The IMF Board is expected to meet Friday in Washington. A number of EU countries have called for Strauss-Khann to be replaced with a European, with many officials backing French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde. China, Brazil and other developing nations are trying to open up the selection process at the institution that represents 187 member countries. The United States, which has the largest share of votes for a single country, made no public statement on the matter.

Listen to Sean-Patrick Lovett’s report: