You use two terms interchangeably that you had better be clear on. You mention investor, and loan. An investor "usually" invests in a business with the idea of getting their investment and their return down the road when the business is a success. A loan is from a lender that's looking for a locked in return up front and has a scheduled payback. That's not to say that there aren't investors who loan, but they are still going to want a stake in your business. As an investor, why would you settle for a 3% return when you can buy into the DOW or S&P and get closer to 12-15%. You have to answer this in your own mind.

I wouldn't meet with anyone in a foreign country about money anywhere but a public place, unless it's a legitimate banking operation.

Make sure you don't pay ANY fees up-front...any fees should be deducted from the proceeds of the loan.

You can hire a P.I. to check them out.

Distributions of funds can be structured anyway the two of you agree on...either lump-sum or progress payments.

Any commercial bank can handle your transactions, HOWEVER, any account they say they need access to I wouldn't keep more than $100 in.

You shouldn't be familiar with any international business laws...you should have an international lawyer who is. If anything goes wrong in international business you have very little recourse.

If I were the guy with the money and I didn't want to travel...I'd expect the person wanting the money to do the travelling.
Hope this helps
Denny