The head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has agreed to undergo scientific and forensic tests and intends to "vigorously" defend himself against charges that he sexually assaulted a hotel maid, his lawyers said.
Strauss-Kahn's court hearing was delayed and he remained in jail after consenting to a medical examinations at the request of the government. He had been due to be arraigned in a Manhattan court but the hearing has now been put over to Monday.
The charges threaten to create a leadership vacuum at the IMF, overseer of the global economy, and throw wide open next year's French presidential election, ending the hopes of the French Socialist who was favourite to beat Nicolas Sarkozy.
The euro fell to a seven-week low against the dollar on Monday after the charges, raising uncertainty over the status of aid to Greece. Strauss-Kahn was pulled off an Air France flight on Sunday as he headed for Europe for crunch talks with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and European finance ministers over the debt crisis.
He was arrested over the weekend and charged with assaulting a 32-year-old maid at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan. The maid identified Strauss-Kahn at a police lineup at the special victims unit in Harlem, New York, where the 62-year-old French presidential hopeful was being held. She was driven from the station in a police van with a blanket over her head.
"He intends to vigorously defend these charges and denies any wrongdoing," lawyer Benjamin Brafman told journalists outside the courthouse.
William Taylor, another of the IMF boss's lawyers, said: "Our client willingly consented to scientific and forensic examinations at the request of the government." Taylor said Strauss-Kahn was "tired, but he's fine".
Strauss-Kahn is alleged to have left his hotel in a hurry after sexually assaulting the maid, forgetting his mobile phone and other items. The woman has not been named. In a statement, Jorge Tito, the managing director of Sofitel New York, said he could not comment on the case.
"However, we want to stress that our employee has been working with Sofitel New York for three years and we have been completely satisfied with the quality of her work and behaviour."
The 32-year-old hotel worker told police she entered Strauss-Kahn's room to clean it at around 1pm on Saturday. He allegedly emerged from the bathroom naked, ran after her and dragged her into a bedroom where he began sexually assaulting her on the bed.
According to the police account of the "brutal" attack, he locked the door to the suite, then dragged the maid down a hallway into a bathroom where he assaulted her again. The woman escaped from the room and was later treated in hospital for minor injuries. Police found Strauss-Kahn had left his room seemingly "in a hurry", leaving behind personal items including his phone.
The allegation is a major embarrassment to the IMF, which has authorised billions of dollars in aid to troubled countries and played a major role in the eurozone debt crisis. The arrest will cast a cloud over the IMF's role in addressing the rescues and is likely to have an impact on stock markets as traders react to yet more uncertainty in Europe.
Strauss-Kahn had been due in Europe for talks over how best to tackle Greece's worsening debt crisis and finalise Portugal's €78bn bailout package.
A senior Greek government official said the arrest would not change the IMF's policy in Greece but could cause delays in the short term. The IMF-led bailout has become increasingly unpopular with other IMF members amid growing doubts about the Greek government's ability and resolve to meet the commitments of the international aid package.
"This adds uncertainty to the prospect of early resolution. The more uncertainty exists in terms of major institutions, the higher the cost for a country like Greece," Louka Katseli, the minister of labour and social security, told the Guardian. "What is needed are firm decisions [to ensure] financing for the next years," she said.
The IMF this weekend appointed John Lipsky, first deputy managing director, as interim boss in Strauss-Kahn's place. The board had been due to meet on Sunday in what it described as a "informal" meeting but issued a statement saying the briefing had been postponed "pending further developments in New York".
The case threatens to throw the spotlight on Strauss-Kahn's reputation in France for targeting women, something alluded to but hushed up in the press.
On Sunday night Anne Mansouret, a Socialist councillor, alleged on French state TV that her daughter, the novelist Tristane Banon, had been the victim of an attempted sex attack by Strauss-Kahn in 2002 but had not gone to police. Mansouret claimed Strauss-Kahn had "a kind of addiction, a difficulty in controlling his impulses, which is a problem". She claimed his "preying" on women was a kind of "violence".
Strauss-Kahn's allies said he was a well-known seducer but the allegations of attempted rape seemed far-fetched and unlikely.
Strauss-Kahn does not have diplomatic immunity as head of the IMF. After a night in police custody in Harlem, he was expected to appear before a county judge. Under New York state law, a criminal sexual act and attempted rape both carry potential 15- to 20-year prison sentences. Unlawful imprisonment carries a three- to five-year sentence.
File photograph of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. 
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, has been refused  after appearing in court in New York charged with sexually assaulting a chambermaid at a hotel in . The decision by the judge to remand him in custody yesterday will likely disrupt emergency talks over the , demolish hopes that he will challenge Nicolas Sarkozy for the , and spell the end of his political career.

In court, Strauss-Kahn appeared sombre and tired. The judge agreed with the argument by the  that the French politician was a flight risk after he reportedly tried to flee the country on a passenger jet for Paris. The defence said Strauss-Kahn denied the charges against him and offered 1,000,000 bail and said he would reside in Manhattan with an , but the judge refused. Afterwards, defence lawyer Benjamin Brafman said: "This battle has just begun."

The politician appeared in court charged with three crimes, including , after a chambermaid told detectives she had been sexually assaulted by Strauss-Kahn in a luxury hotel near . "The maid described being forcibly attacked, locked in the room and sexually assaulted," a spokesperson for the  said. Detectives said the politician was detained in the  cabin of the passenger plane which was minutes from leaving for Paris. Strauss-Kahn had reportedly fled the hotel "in a hurry" after the attack, leaving a number of personal effects behind. 

Prosecutors have last night announced they are investigating claims made by a French author, , that she was sexually assaulted by Strauss-Kahn in 2002. At the time, her mother— councillor — persuaded her not to press charges against him, but yesterday she told French television that Strauss-Kahn had an "addiction" to "preying" on women, and had "a difficulty in controlling his impulses." The author's lawyer has announced he is planning to file a complaint with Banon to officials about the alleged attack. Kahn can be convicted and sentenced over the alleged attacks on the chambermaid and on Banon because he does not have .

Strauss-Kahn was considered a serious contender and was expected to announce his candidacy against Sarkozy this month, but the allegations are expected to destroy the hopes of his supporters, increase infighting among the French left, and leave his political career in tatters. His arrest comes at a critical moment for the IMF, and will likely plunge efforts to stabilise the financial states of struggling  countries into chaos. Strauss-Kahn was meant to discuss the bailouts of Greece and Portugal with European Union financial officials at a meeting in  this week.