What Is Dominique Strauss-Kahn's Future?

Over the weekend, former head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was charged, and arrested for raping a Manhattan maid at his hotel.

Strauss-Kahn was staying at a $3,000 per night hotel room, when the maid entered the room around 1 p.m., and saw Strauss-Kahn emerge from the bathroom naked. According to the main, Strauss-Kahn chased her down a hallway, pulled her into a bedroom, and began to sexually assault her.

Kahn has denied any wrongdoing, and said he will fight the charges.

So what does this mean for Strauss-Kahn's future with the IMF, and elsewhere?

Prior to this newest allegation, Kahn had been a front-runner to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy for French presidency. With these new allegations, Strauss-Kahn can pretty much kiss any hopes of a presidency goodbye.

Many are saying that Strauss-Kahn's career is over, and probably will not come back to the IMF, after he was taken off the plane set for France at New York's John F. Kennedy airport.

Eswar Shanker Prasad, an international economics professor at Cornell University, told the Washington Post, "This sordid episode - no matter how it ultimately plays out - will spell the end of Strauss-Kahn as an effective leader of the IMF even if he retains his position, which is highly unlikely."

"With Strauss-Kahn's departure, the IMF can no longer be counted on to watch Europe's back as it becomes increasingly clear that the EU-IMF program in Greece is not working," he said.

It appears that even if Strauss-Kahn's career isn't "over," it is pretty much in shambles. If he is found guilty on these charges, his career in politics will definitely be over, and he may not find work ever again, as the charges for this crime could mean that he spends the rest of his life in jail. At 61 years old, the average jail sentence for rape is around 12 years. Even if he released for good behavior, and only serves 80% of his sentence, should be found guilty, he will still be around 70 years old. Strauss-Kahn's career is effectively over, and although you are innocent until proven guilty in this country, it does not look too good for DSK.

In this game of high finance, the odds are stacked against him, and that's a trade I would not want to take on.