Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn told police he had diplomatic immunity when he was first detained at a New York airport, according to a filing by Manhattan prosecutors.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, who is awaiting trial on charges of sexually assaulting and attempting to rape a Manhattan hotel maid on May 14, made the statement after police stopped him at John F. Kennedy International Airport the day of the alleged attack, according to the disclosure form sent yesterday to New York State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus in Manhattan, who is presiding over the case.

“We would like you to come with us,” Detective Diwan Maharaj told Strauss-Kahn on the jetway before taking him to the Port Authority Police precinct at the airport about 5 p.m.

“I have diplomatic immunity,” Strauss-Kahn said while being handcuffed, according to the filing.

“Where is your passport?” Maharaj asked.

“It’s not in this passport, I have a second passport,” Strauss-Kahn said.

Strauss-Kahn has a laissez-passer travel document issued by the United Nations. The UN modifies laissez-passer agreements based on the status of the relevant organization and its officials.

No Immunity Claim

Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers, Bill Taylor and Benjamin Brafman, haven’t claimed their client enjoys diplomatic immunity. After surrendering his French passport to the district attorney’s office, his lawyers said they would get the laissez-passer, which was in Strauss-Kahn’s Washington office, and turn it over.

Brafman didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail about yesterday’s filing.

The night of his arrest, at the special victims’ squad of the New York Police Department, the issue of diplomatic status arose again when Strauss-Kahn asked if he needed a lawyer, according to the disclosure form.

“It is your right to have one in this country if you want,” a detective told him, the form says. “I don’t know if you have some kind of diplomatic status.”

“No, no, no, I’m not trying to use that,” Strauss-Kahn said. “I just want to know if I need a lawyer.”

“That is up to you,” the detective said.

‘Ready to Talk’

Later, he was asked if he wished to speak with detectives about the incident at the hotel, the filing says.

“My attorney has told me not to talk,” he said. “I was ready to talk.”

Strauss-Kahn is living in a rented townhouse in the Tribeca section of Manhattan, where he must stay under armed guard and with electronic monitoring after posting $1 million cash bail and $5 million bond.

A potential candidate for the French presidency, Strauss- Kahn pleaded not guilty on June 6. If convicted of the top charges in the indictment against him, he faces as long as 25 years in prison.