A businessman, who once headed a major bank in Egypt, was arrested in New York on Monday for allegedly sexually assaulting an employee at an upscale hotel.
The incident, which involves salt company board chairman Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Osmar, occurred two weeks after a prominent French politician was arrested for the same grounds in Manhattan.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former chief of International Monetary Fund, was also arrested and charged with sexual abuse for attempting to rape a hotel maid.
The New York Police Department said Omar, 74-years-old, is accused of abusing a maid when she went to deliver tissues to room 1027 on Sunday evening at Manhattan’s Pierre Hotel located at the Upper East Side, Fifth Avenue.
Omar, the former chairman of the Egyptian American Bank and the Bank of Alexandria, did not immediately make an official statement. Also, the salt company, El-Mex Salines Co, said it had no comments to make about the incident.
The assault was reported to the police department on Monday morning. Omar is charged with sexual abuse, forcible touching, unlawful imprisonment, as well as harassment.
In a statement, the Pierre Hotel said that their hotel’s priority is the safety of their staff and guests. They said to comply with the investigation when requested.
Meanwhile, politician Strauss-Kahn is now under a house arrest in a million-dollar New York townhouse. He denied charges of attempted rape, criminal sexual act, sexual abuse, forcible touching and unlawful imprisonment. However, he will face 25 years in prison if proven guilty.