International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be held in custody in New York's notorious Rikers Island jail after a U.S. judge denied him bail.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, was arrested at New York's John F Kennedy Internation Airport on board a plane to Paris, just 10 minutes before takeoff. He is charged with attempting to rape a maid at the Sofitel hotel near Manhattan's Times Square.

Due to his high profile, Strauss-Kahn will be held in protective custody in the prison's west facility, the smallest of the nine jails that comprise the New York City jail complex, ABC News said, citing officials from the U.S. Department of Corrections.

Unlike other prison buildings, this facility has some 30 single-person cells, each 11 by 13 feet, offering "direct natural light."

The IMF chief, who until yesterday was regarded a front-runner in the French presidential elections, denies the charges, laid against him by a 32-year-old hotel maid. She told police that she was attacked by Strauss-Kahn, who came out of his bathroom naked, chased and sexually assaulted her.

The judge denied the defense's offer to post $1 million bail, saying there was too great a chance Strauss-Kahn would try to leave the United States.

Prosecutors said Strauss-Kahn was arrested trying to flee the country, but his lawyer said he was rushing to an important meeting.

The next court hearing on the IMF chief's case is scheduled for Friday.

NEW YORK, May 17 (RIA Novosti)