Ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is countersuing the New York hotel maid whose accusation of sexual assault last year brought down his glittering political career.
The countersuit, signed yesterday and made public today, seeks at least $1m plus undetermined punitive damages from the maid, Nafissatou Diallo, who is accused of "falsely and maliciously asserting" that she was attacked.
The 18-page document accuses Ms Diallo of malicious prosecution, abuse of process, false imprisonment, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
"Ms Diallo participated in the commencement and maintenance of a baseless criminal prosecution," the suit said, "and in doing so intended to injure Mr Strauss-Kahn."
The suit was the French politician's latest attempt to turn the tables on Ms Diallo and recover from a scandal that started a year ago when she accused him of forcing her into oral sex when she went to clean his luxury hotel room.
A criminal case against Mr Strauss-Kahn collapsed because Ms Diallo lied to Manhattan prosecutors on certain aspects of the story.
However, Mr Strauss-Kahn was forced to resign from the International Monetary Fund and abandon his hopes of winning the French presidency.
Subsequently, Ms Diallo opened a civil suit seeking unspecified damages in New York, while in France prosecutors opened a separate criminal case against Mr Strauss-Kahn, alleging involvement in an international prostitution ring.
