DELL WILL pay $100 million to resolve US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accounting fraud allegations in a deal that will let founder Michael Dell stay on as chief executive after paying a $4 million fine.

Mr Dell (45) and the personal computer maker failed to tell investors about "exclusivity payments" received from Intel in exchange for not using products made by the chipmaker's main rival, the SEC said in a complaint filed at federal court in Washington.

Those payments allowed Dell to reach its earnings targets from 2001 to 2006, the SEC said.

"Accuracy and completeness are the touchstones of public company disclosure under the federal securities laws," SEC enforcement director Robert Khuzami said.

"Michael Dell and other senior Dell executives fell short of that standard repeatedly over many years."

The settlement helps Dell resolve inquiries about the role payments from Intel played in its financial results and those of other PC makers.

The payments were at issue in a private antitrust lawsuit filed against Intel by chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, a New York state investigation of Intel's business practices, and a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit filed against Intel in December.

Dell, said on June 10th that it had set aside $100 million for the settlement.

Dell's former chief executive Kevin Rollins and James Schneider, the company's former chief financial officer, agreed to pay fines of $4 million and $3 million, respectively. Schneider was suspended from appearing or practising before the SEC as an accountant for five years.

The SEC, as urged by the company in its settlement proposal, spared Mr Dell similar punishment.

"We are pleased to have resolved this matter," Mr Dell said in a statement. "We are committed to maintaining clear and accurate reporting of our periodic results, supporting our customers, and executing our growth strategies." - (Bloomberg)