Strauss-Kahn strikes secret deal to end US sex case

NEW YORK (AFP) - Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Monday agreed a financial settlement with a New York hotel maid who had accused him of sexual assault.

A judge ordered that details of the deal between Mr Strauss-Kahn and Ms Nafissatou Diallo, a 33-year-old illiterate migrant from Guinea, be kept confidential.

Ms Diallo said the one-time French presidential hopeful emerged naked from the bathroom of the hotel suite she was cleaning and forced her to perform oral sex. Mr Strauss-Kahn said the acts were consensual.

Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have dismissed reports that the maid would receive several million dollars, but experts have said a substantial payment is the norm in such a case.