Authorities on Tuesday questioned former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn as they investigate an alleged prostitution ring operating out of two hotels in France.

Last year, Strauss-Kahn urged police to question him, saying it would help clear his name.

At the time, his attorneys released a statement saying Strauss-Kahn wanted to address the so-called “media lynching” that he says falsely links him to sex parties with prostitutes in Europe and the United States.

The investigation kicked off in October and centered around the northern French city of Lille, where investigators began looking into claims that luxury hotels served as a base for a high-profile prostitution network.

The French press has dubbed the investigation “The Carlton Affair” named after an expensive Lille hotel where some of the alleged trysts occurred.

The incident continues a string of sexual allegations against Strauss-Kahn, a one-time French presidential hopeful.

He stepped down from the top job at the IMF after a New York hotel maid in May accused him of sexual assault and attempted rape. The case ultimately fell apart after the alleged victim posed significant credibility issues for prosecutors, despite forensic evidence that showed a sexual encounter had occurred.

In France, he later faced allegations of attempted rape from a young French writer.

Tristane Banon filed a complaint, alleging a 2003 attack, though it could not be pursued because of a statute of limitations.

Strauss-Kahn denied the allegations in both cases and has since filed a countersuit in France alleging slander.

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