Top Brazil parliamentarian denies bribery accusations

President of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies Eduardo Cunha on Thursday roundly denied accusations that he had demanded bribes worth millions of U.S. dollars.

The accusations were part of the corruption scandal engulfing the state oil giant Petrobras.

Julio Camargo, an executive of Toyo Setal, a Brazilian shipbuilding company, told the Justice Ministry in a recent deposition that Cunha had demanded 10 million U.S. dollars to ensure the firm would win a contract to provide ships to Petrobras.

Camargo revealed that Cunha made the demand during a meeting in Rio de Janeiro, saying he personally deserved to receive 5 million U.S. dollars.

Camargo said the demand was linked to late payments on a shipping contract signed two years ago worth a total of 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.

In response, Cunha released a statement, slamming Camargo as a "liar".

"I vehemently deny the lies of this informant and I challenge him to prove them," Cunha said.

Cunha added that Camargo's testimony was made under pressure from Brazil's Attorney General Rodrigo Janot, who Cunha said was pursuing this case to boost his own profile ahead of his bid for re-election in September.

This week has seen federal police raid the residences of various political leaders, including ex-President and current senator Fernado Collor de Mello, in search of evidence of their involvement in the Petrobras bribery scheme.

Analysts say the operation marks the beginning of a new phase of the Petrobras investigation, which is nicknamed "Operacao Lava Jato" (Operation Car Wash). Endi