Dominique Strauss-Kahn has no intention of reaching a settlement with Nafissatou Diallo to avoid a civil rape case, his lawyer was quoted by French media as saying a day after the criminal case against him was dropped.
Benjamin Brafman told Le Parisien newspaper the former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief had "no intention" and "never had any intention" of giving money to Diallo, the hotel maid, who accused him of trying to rape her in May, DPA reported.
"He is innocent," Brafman repeated, calling the decision by the Supreme Court of the State of New York to abandon the criminal case a "victory for the truth."
At a hearing Tuesday, Judge Michael Obus approved the prosecution's motion to dismiss the charges.
The prosecution said alleged victim had repeatedly lied about her background and about what happened immediately after the alleged attack in the hotel, eroding her credibility as a witness.
With the case behind him, Strauss-Kahn says he "can't wait" to return to France.
He was free to collect his passport Tuesday afternoon, after Diallo's defence team lost an appeal against the judge's refusal to appoint a special prosecutor in the case.
Before returning home, however, Strauss-Kahn told reporters he had "some little things" to take care of.
Some of his allies have hinted he might first travel to Washington to bid farewell to staff at the IMF. Strauss-Kahn was forced to resign from the Fund in May. He never got the chance to meet the staff face-to-face.
Meanwhile, the prospect of his return has stoked speculation in France about what, if any, public role he could play in the future.
Strauss-Kahn had been poised to run for president in next year's elections before his arrest. The gravity of the allegations against him - which remain untested in court - nixed that ambition.
Some Socialist leaders have suggested the party could make use of his economic expertise.
One of his French lieutenants, Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, speaking to Liberation daily, ruled out an imminent bounce-back.
Strauss-Kahn was "never a man to rush into things," according to Cambadelis.