Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been released from a New York City jail after posting $1 million in cash and $5 million in a secured bond earlier in the day.

Strauss-Kahn had been released from Rikers Island by 5:15 p.m. ET, according to a statement from the city's Department of Corrections.

He is now in the custody of a security firm that is responsible for supervising the terms of his release, which include house arrest. He will also be monitored electronically and by armed guards.

The 62-year-old former IMF head will reside in lower Manhattan while he faces trial. He had originally planned to stay in an apartment rented by his wife but prosecutors said there were objections from people in the building.

A grand jury has indicted Strauss-Kahn on sex abuse charges related to the alleged attack of a hotel maid in New York.

He has been charged with attempted rape and a criminal sexual act in the first degree and had been jailed since Sunday.

Strauss-Kahn has denied the charges, and reluctantly resigned from his role as the managing director of the IMF.

In a letter, he offered his resignation with "great sadness," but felt compelled to do so out of consideration for his family and the organization he led since November 2007.

Prosecutors had argued that Strauss-Kahn should not be released from jail due to the violent nature of the alleged crime, and because his personal wealth and high-level connections would make it easy for him to flee the country.

Similar house arrest arrangements have been made in the past in New York, including for Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernard Madoff.

The 32-year-old maid at the centre of the allegations claims that she was attacked after entering Strauss-Kahn's hotel room.

According to what the maid told police, Strauss-Kahn allegedly emerged from his bathroom naked, chased her down, forced her to perform oral sex on him and tried to remove her stockings before she broke free and fled the room

Investigators have been testing the hotel room carpet for traces of Strauss-Kahn's semen, which officials say could be used as evidence in the case against him. They are also looking at the maid's keycard to determine how long she was there and whether she used it to enter the room.

With files from The Associated Press