Police say he faces three charges, including attempted rape. His lawyers say he denies the claims.
The married former French finance minister is also considered a possible Socialist candidate for the presidency.The BBC's Hugh Schofield, in Paris, says Mr Strauss-Kahn has been riding high in the polls and was seen as having a genuine chance of beating President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Martine Aubry, leader of France's Socialist Party, described news of his arrest as a "thunderbolt" which left her "astounded".
Mr Strauss-Kahn is expected to appear before a New York state court later on Sunday, Reuters reports.
He had been scheduled to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday, but that meeting has now been cancelled, reports say.
On Monday he had planned to attend a meeting of European Union finance ministers in Brussels on Monday to discuss the bailouts of Portugal and Greece.
Correspondents say his detention is likely to complicate ongoing efforts to stabilise the finances of struggling eurozone member states. via librabunda.blogspot.com
The International Monetary Fund has issued a statement in the wake of the arrest of its boss, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, on sex-assault charges in New York.
The IMF is not exactly standing up for the man:
Statement on IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Ms. Caroline Atkinson, Director of External Relations at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today:
“IMF Managing Director Strauss-Kahn was arrested in New York City. Mr. Strauss-Kahn has retained legal counsel, and the IMF has no comment on the case; all inquiries will be referred to his personal lawyer and to the local authorities.
“The IMF remains fully functioning and operational.”
The IMF has already had to investigate and apologize for one Strauss-Kahn sex scandal (an affair with a subordinate). Strauss-Kahn survived that one, after apologizing publicly to the IMF and his wife. His surviving this one, at least with his job intact, seems unlikely. via businessinsider.com
