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Fallen IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn left jail on bail on Friday and was whisked to a safe house off Wall Street where he will be held under round-the-clock armed guard.French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde led the race to succeed him in the top job in global finance.
But developing countries, whose clout in the world economy has grown in recent years, kept up pressure on Europe and the United States not to cut a backroom deal over the appointment.
Strauss-Kahn, indicted for allegedly trying to rape a New York hotel housekeeper last Saturday, left New York's Rikers Island jail after a judge said his bail conditions had been met.
Photographers gathered outside an apartment building in New York's financial district where he was expected. A man held up a placard on which was scribbled - "D.S.K., Not In my Backyard," referring to Strauss-Kahn's initials.
Later, media reported that he had in fact arrived at another building in the same area for what is expected to be a few days before a more permanent home is found for him in the city, ahead of potentially long legal proceedings.
Strauss-Kahn, 62, will subjected to electronic monitoring around the clock and must wear a tracking device on his ankle.
The former French finance minister was once seen as a possible contender to become the next president of France and he played a central role in tackling the global financial crisis of 2007-09.
He denies the charges against him and has vowed to prove his innocence. He resigned from the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday.
Lawyers representing him posted $1 million in bail and a $5 million insurance bond, as ordered by a judge on Thursday.
France's Lagarde was in pole position to take over his job as many of Europe's capitals rallied behind her.
She has been praised for her role in tackling the European debt crisis and for her experience, with France this year chairing the Group of 20, in handing the often conflicting economic demands of advanced and developing economies.
The IMF has been run by a European ever since it was created at the end of World War Two.
The challenge for emerging economies to break Europe's grip on the job got tougher when the most widely tipped potential candidate from among their ranks ruled himself out.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel all but endorsed Lagarde, telling a Berlin news conference she rated her highly.
Chairman of the U.S. law firm Baker & McKenzie in Chicago before joining the French government in 2005, she is a fluent English speaker. She would be the first woman to head the IMF.
Diplomats said some European Union countries questioned whether Lagarde could be anointed before a special court decides next month whether she should be investigated in a French legal case.
Emerging Nations Seek Candidate
Emerging Nations Seek Candidate
Emerging economies have long wanted more say in how global finance is run. Asian, Middle Eastern and African diplomats at the IMF headquarters in Washington said emerging nations were seeking a consensus candidate.
That task was made harder when former Turkish economy minister Kemal Dervis, seen as the front-runner among potential non-European contenders, ruled himself out.
How much was his bail?
A. $1 million in bail
B. $8 million in bail
C. $12 million in bail
How much was his insurance bond?
A. $5 million insurance bond,
B. $25 million insurance bond,
C. $55 million insurance bond,
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