Ex-IMF chief's pals offer bribe to maid's kin

A seven figure sum has been offered by the pals of former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn to the 'impoverished' family of the chambermaid who was allegedly sexually assaulted in a hotel in New York by him to hush up the case, a media report claimed on Tuesday.

The maid, who is from Guinea, has family in the West African nation.

"They already talked with her family," a French businesswoman with close ties to Strauss-Kahn and his family told The New York Post.

"For sure, it's going to end up on a quiet note."

It emerged on Monday that Strauss-Kahn's sperm was found on the maid's dress.

The former IMF chief, who was indicted on seven counts on Thursday, allegedly forced the maid at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan to perform oral sex.

He was taken into custody a few minutes before his Air France flight departed for Paris.

Since the maid is out of reach, Strauss-Kahn's people had to reach out to the family in Guinea, a former French colony, according to The Post.

"He'll get out of it and will fly back to France. He won't spend time in jail. The woman will get a lot of money," said the source, adding that a seven-figure sum has been proposed.

The Post

reported that her extended family lives in a village that lacks paved roads, electricity and phone lines.

The average monthly income is $45. The maid lives with her 15-year-old daughter in The Bronx.

Her relatives in NYC had been warned by prosecutors to avoid contact with Strauss-Kahn's associates.

Strauss-Kahn left Rikers Island prison after paying $6 million in bail. He has been put under house arrest and he has to wear an electronic monitoring device.

Strauss-Kahn denies wrongdoing and is expected to plead not guilty.

In an email to IMF staffers, procured by CNN, Strauss-Kahn expressed his frustration over his predicament.

"I wanted very much to be in touch with you, personally and directly, to express my profound sadness and frustration in having to leave under these circumstances," Strauss-Kahn wrote.

"I deny in the strongest possible terms the allegations which I now face," he added.