Lawyers for Former IMF Head Deny $6 Million Settlement With Hotel Maid

Dominique Strauss-Kahn's legal team says there is no settlement yet

Lawyers for former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn are denying reports that he has settled a lawsuit for $6 million with the hotel maid who accused him of sexual assault. They say settlement negotiations are happening, but a figure has not been reached.

Strauss-Kahn was arrested in New York in May 2011 after Nafissatou Diallo said he assaulted her in his hotel suite. Diallo's case was thrown out in a criminal court because prosecutors doubted her credibility, and she opened a civil suit for undisclosed damages against Strauss-Kahn. The former politician called the lawsuit defamatory and countersued.

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Strauss-Kahn's lawyers William Taylor III and Amit Mehta said in a statement on Friday that reports of a settlement were "flatly false."

"The parties have discussed a resolution but there has been no settlement. Mr Strauss-Kahn will continue to defend the charges if no resolution can be reached," their statement said.

The BBC cited French newspaper Le Monde, which quoted unnamed sources close to Strauss-Kahn who said he planned to pay Diallo $6 million. The sources also said half would be paid by Strauss-Kahn and half would be loaned to him by his wife, Anne Sinclair. Sinclair and Strauss-Kahn were formally separated last month.

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Diallo's case opened a veritable floodgate of other sexual allegations against Strauss-Kahn, and he resigned from the IMF. The allegations and court case are also believed to have ruined his chance of becoming a presidential candidate in France.

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