Brother of maid in Strauss-Kahn sex case slams report against her

The brother of a New York hotel maid who accused former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault has slammed a report questioning the woman’s credibility.

The New York Times reported Thursday that the 32-year-old Guinean woman, who in May accused Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her in his New York City Sofitel hotel suite, had lied to prosecutors and may be involved in criminal activities. There were also concerns raised about her asylum application.

"I categorically deny the accusations against my sister on her alleged involvement in drug dealing and money laundering," the Guinean woman's brother, Mamadou Dian Diallo, told Agence France-Presse in Conakry.

(More from GlobalPost in France: Strauss-Kahn case reveals inequities in French society)

Strauss-Kahn stepped down as head of the International Monetary Fund over the sexual assault charges. The report in the Times cited two law enforcement officials as saying that the case against him is near collapse.

Strauss-Kahn is also a prominent politician in France and had been considered a strong contender for the presidency.

"Let us not be distracted by false arguments. We know it is a fight between David and Goliath, between the rich and the poor young woman from a poor family, a poor country, but the truth will come out one day," the woman's brother said.

"The decade she spent away from her family will not change her. She is a decent girl who does not have an extreme taste for money. She works only so that she does not have to beg, to feed and provide for her only daughter," he said.

Strauss-Kahn's attorneys will ask the State Supreme Court to reduce the conditions of his bail after the prosecutors raised their concerns about the accuser, according to the Washington Post, citing an unnamed source. Attorneys for both sides have requested an unscheduled hearing in the court on Friday morning.