Even though the world has witnessed felonies of the famous quite a bit, the misdemeanour of a celebrity or leader of a celebrated organisation gets the gossipy juices of the media flowing almost instantly.
The case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the once-famous-now-infamous former Managing Director of the IMF, is no different. But his resignation from the renowned institution is what has spread the sparks even more.
On Kahns part, the sensitive nature of the allegation against him and his resolve to plead not guilty to the charges warrant a lengthy trial, which means a tremendous amount of his efforts are likely to be directed towards proving his innocence.
A dual role of defendant-cum-head wouldve been quite a feat for the unfortunate leader and the decision to resign appears reasonable, both for Kahn and for the Fund.
But this means a new task in the long list of the IMFs responsibilities - that of hunting a successor.
IMFs 24-member executive board selects a candidate from a pool of nominees, not without much deliberation and debate. The matter gets resolved through voting if the board does not reach an agreement on the decision.
The nationality of a prospective successor is what has stirred commentators on the issue, particularly since the Fund has had European managing directors since it was created after the 2nd World War. Pressure is now emanating to let a candidate from the emerging markets head the Fund, with key public personnel from India, Turkey, Mexico and Israel amongst potential successors. Although Pakistanis may shift in their seats if an Indian bags the coveted spot, the Indian favourites claim to the Financial Times to be "quite happy" in his current position - that of the deputy chairman of the Indian planning commission - may bring some relief.
Yet, with speculations on one candidate down, the story of succession remains an interesting one. After all, who ends up leading the lender of the last resort is no small deal.
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