Former IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has been acquitted of procuring prostitutes for sex parties in France, Belgium and the US.
In a court in France, Mr Strauss-Kahn stood alongside 13 co-defendants, most of whom were also acquitted of “aggravated pimping”.
He has always denied knowing that some of the women who took part in orgies he attended were prostitutes.
The sexual habits of the former French presidential hopeful were at the centre of trial hearings in Lille in February.
The BBC reports that although using prostitutes is not illegal in France, assisting in supplying them is illegal and regarded as procuring. Mr Strauss-Kahn had been accused of playing a pivotal role in facilitating the orgies.
The verdict brings to a close four years of legal proceedings against Mr Strauss-Kahn, including charges of attempted rape which were later dropped in 2012.
The Chief Judge said Mr Strauss-Kahn behaved as a client and had not paid the sex workers he met. He only benefitted from others paying them to be present for group parties, the judge added.
Among the others acquitted was Belgian brothel owner, Dominique Alderweireld, also known as Dodo la Saumure, who was accused of supplying prostitutes for the parties.