Disgraced IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as the head of the IMF after his arrest on attempted rape charges.

"I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me," Strauss-Kahn said in a resignation letter released by the IMF late yesterday.

"I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me," Mr Strauss-Kahn said in a resignation letter released by the IMF late yesterday.

"I want to devote all my strength, all my time, and all my energy to proving my innocence."

Mr Strauss-Kahn is being held in the notorious Rikers Island jail in New York, until his next hearing on Friday, after he was denied bail on Monday.

He has been arrested on charges of criminal sexual act, attempted rape, and unlawful imprisonment in connection with a sexual assault of a chamber maid who came to clean his luxury suite at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan that Saturday. His lawyer has said he will plead not guilty. If convicted, he could face 25 years in prison.