PARIS - A lawyer for Dominique Strauss-Kahn says the former IMF chief wants to be questioned by police so that he can debunk claims he was linked to a suspected hotel prostitution ring.

Lawyer Frederique Beaulieu says Strauss-Kahn "is asking to be questioned to put an end to these insinuations and extrapolations."

The lawyer said Monday that Strauss-Kahn expressed his wishes in a statement but has not yet been contacted by police.

Prosecutors in the northern city of Lille are investigating a suspected prostitution ring in France and neighbouring Belgium. The head of Lille's luxury Hotel Carlton was among those detained.

The weekly Journal du Dimanche said Strauss-Kahn's name surfaced in the investigation as a possible client.