NYPD: Another financial figure accused of hotel sexual assault

New York (CNN) -- The chairman of a salt company who once headed an Egyptian bank was arrested Monday in New York, accused of sexually abusing an employee at a luxury hotel.

Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Omar is charged with sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment, forcible touching and harassment, according to the New York Police Department.

The alleged incident took place on May 29 -- two weeks and a day after Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, was accused of sexually assaulting and attempting to rape a housekeeping employee at another swank New York hotel. Strauss-Kahn's attorneys deny the allegations, and he has since stepped down from the IMF to focus on his defense.

Omar, 74, did not immediately make a public statement.

The New York Police Department said it was informed Monday that an incident had taken place Sunday at the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan. Police came to the hotel, where the alleged victim told them that at about 6 p.m. Sunday she went to Omar's room to drop off tissues he had requested. "Once inside the room the victim was sexually abused," police said.

A spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said prosecutors would not release any information until after Omar's arraignment, which could take place Tuesday.

There was a time lag between the alleged incident and telling the police because the woman's night supervisor entered it in a logbook but did nothing else, according to Peter Ward, the head of the hotel workers' union.

Ward, also the president of the New York Hotel Trades Council, said that when another manager came in Monday, that manager called the police.

Nora Walsh, a spokeswoman for the Pierre hotel, said the night supervisor has been suspended pending investigation. Walsh said the Pierre will buy some sort of emergency communication device and that the hotel is looking into purchasing it for all room attendants.

The Pierre Hotel released a statement saying, "The Pierre's priority is the safety of our guests and staff. We take all complaints very seriously and investigate thoroughly. This incident has been formally reported to the New York Police Department and is under investigation. And we will fully comply with the investigation as requested."

Omar is chairman of El-Mex Salines Company. On its website, the company describes itself as a subsidiary of Chemical Industries Holding Company, a chemical production company. It is "one of the oldest international companies in (the) salt industry," the website says.

A spokesman for El-Mex Salines told CNN Omar was head of the Bank of Alexandria 15 years ago.

El-Mex Salines had no immediate comment on the arrest.

The Bank of Alexandria was established in 1957 as an Egyptian joint stock company, according to its website. It was privatized in 2006.

CNN's Mary Snow contributed to this report.