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Ex-IMF chief Strauss-Kahn released from New York jail


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was released from New York's Rikers Island jail shortly before 4 p.m. (9 p.m. British time) on Friday, a law enforcement official said.

    The French politician, who is facing charges of an alleged sexual assault on a New York hotel maid, was released into the custody of a New York security firm with close ties to local prosecutors, the official said.

    He originally was expected to be taken under guard to an apartment on New York's Upper East Side. But after the address leaked and the building was besieged by media, the official said, it was possible he might be moved to a "safe house" in downtown Manhattan.

    The security firm the court approved to guard Strauss-Kahn as part of his bail arrangement is not obliged to keep police informed of Strauss-Kahn's location, the official said.

    (This story was corrected in the first paragraph to show the proper spelling of Dominique Strauss-Kahn)

    (Reporting by Mark Hosenball and Basil Katz; Editing by Jackie Frank)