Brazilian minister accused of influence peddling quits

Brazil's Secretary of Government Geddel Vieira Lima resigned on Friday after a fellow cabinet member accused him of influence peddling.

Lima, whose office has ministry status, allegedly pressured Culture Minister Marcelo Calero to authorize a real estate project in Salvador, Bahia state, in which he had a vested interest -- Lima bought an apartment in the building.

The project had been halted by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan), a dependency of the Culture Ministry, because its location at a historic site restricts buildings to 13 stories, whereas the design called for 31 floors.

After being pressured by Lima, Calero resigned his post last week. Earlier this week, he testified to Federal Police that after giving into Lima's demands, he discussed the events with President Michel Temer, who backed Lima.

Temer on Thursday denied intervening on behalf of Lima.

It wasn't until news broke that Calero recorded both conversations and gave the recordings to the Federal Police that the pressure increased on Lima to resign.

The Federal Prosecution Office will launch an official investigation into Lima's alleged influence peddling. Enditem