IMF chief faces scrutiny over hiring of intern

Updated at: 1238 PST, Wednesday, October 22, 2008
WASHINGTON: International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, under investigation for possible abuse of power, also faces questioning about the hiring of a young French intern who worked on one of his political campaigns, officials said on Tuesday.

The former French finance minister, who will be officially questioned on Tuesday by an IMF-hired lawyer, has come under scrutiny over whether he abused his position in a brief affair with Piroska Nagy, who worked in the IMF's Africa department until taking a buyout in August.

While the IMF's hiring of the intern, 26-year-old Emilie Byhet, is not part of that investigation, IMF officials said the lawyer "was aware of it and will look at everything."