Strauss-Kahn request on sex case rejected A French court has rejected a request by Dominique Strauss-Kahn to drop an inquiry into allegations against him of pimping, stymying an attempt by the former head of the International Monetary Fund to put a series of sex scandals behind him. Mr Strauss-Kahn, anxious to start rebuilding his career, earlier this month reached a settlement with Nafissatou Diallo, the hotel chambermaid who accused him of attempted rape in New York in May last year, a case that forced his resignation from the IMF and crushed his plans to run for the French presidency. He had also applied to the French courts to drop a case in which he has been placed under official investigation alongside a number of business executives and police officers for involvement in the organisation of a prostitution ring based in the northern city of Lille, which could result in charges against him. Mr Strauss-Kahn has admitted participating with friends in a series of what he has styled soirées libertines, including one in Washington when he was at the IMF which took place in the same week as the incident with the chamber maid. But he strongly denies the allegation of pimping, insisting he did not know the women involved in the sex parties were prostitutes. His lawyers, who have stressed that having sex with prostitutes is not illegal in France, said he would appeal against Wednesday's decision to retain the investigation against him. "Dominique Strauss-Kahn's defence team is certain that he will ultimately be cleared of these absurd accusations of pimping, which are contrary to both common sense and legal analysis," they said in a statement. He was released on bail of €100,000 after eight hours of questioning on the case in March this year by the Lille judges. He is formally suspected of involvement in "aggravated procurement by an organised gang." Mr Strauss-Kahn, originally the strong favourite to win a presidential election eventually won by his socialist rival François Hollande in May this year, has recently appeared at a number of international conferences on the global economy and has set up a consultancy in a bid to restart his career.