Washington, May 21 (IANS) Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be investigated for his alleged participation in a prostitution ring in Washington, and the charges could also constitute gang rape.

French authorities said Monday that police from lille city will open an inquiry into the acts that allegedly took place in Washington in December 2010, CNN reported.

French newspaper liberation reported that the allegations stemmed from statements made by two women the newspaper described as "escort girls". They were questioned by Belgian police as part of a probe into a prostitution ring run out of a hotel in lille, near France's border with Belgium.

According to the newspaper, the women said they had accompanied two associates of Strauss-Kahn on a visit to Washington, and stayed at a hotel there.

One of them alleged that Strauss-Kahn had used force against her during a sexual encounter at the hotel, despite her protests.

The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington told CNN no sexual assault at the hotel was reported at that time.

The prostitution investigation continues a string of sexual allegations against Strauss-Kahn. He has not been convicted of a crime.

A sex scandal halted his expected run for the French presidency. He stepped down from the top job at the IMF after the May 2011 incident, in which a New York hotel maid accused him of sexual assault and attempted rape. He denied the accusation.

The case ultimately fell apart after prosecutors decided they could not be sure about the credibility of the alleged victim, despite forensic evidence that showed a sexual encounter had occurred.