By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Embattled hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been arrested on Monday at the Park Hyatt Hotel on 57th Street in Manhattan, authorities confirmed.
Diddy, 54, who is under federal investigation and is facing several sexual abuse and trafficking allegations, all of which he has denied, was detained at New York’s Park Hyatt hotel.
Marc Agnifilo, who is acting as attorney for Diddy, told TMZ they were ‘disappointed’ by the arrest of an ‘innocent man’.
He issued a statement saying: “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
He added that Diddy “is an imperfect person but is not criminal. To his credit Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges.”
“Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, confirmed the arrest with a statement.
“Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY,’ it said. The prosecutor added they have plans to unseal the indictment on Tuesday morning, and they’ll ‘have more to say at that time.’
The federal investigation against the rapper was made public in March when agents executed search warrants at his properties in Los Angeles and Miami.
The rapper made his name – then known as Puff Daddy – during the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop battles of the 1990s as the partner and producer of the Notorious B.I.G, who was shot and killed in 1997. He is known as one of the most influential producers and executives in hip-hop.