Former Brazilian president Collor denies bribery charges

Brazil's former president Fernando Collor de Mello on Wednesday denied allegations accusing him of accepting millions in bribes in a case of investigation into an extensive corruption scheme at the country's oil giant Petrobras.

Collor, currently a senator for the Brazilian Labour Party (PTB) , took to the senate floor to deny the charges saying he had allegedly taken 26 million reais (nearly 7.5 million U.S. dollars) in bribes.

The charges were brought by Attorney General Rodrigo Janot as part of an investigation into kickbacks and bribery at Petrobras that saw millions funneled into the private accounts of company or local officials when construction firms vied for juicy contracts.

Collor, one of the 48 politicians being investigated in relation to the case, described the accusations as "lies foisted on public opinion," Brazil's G1 news website reported.

The former president countered the charges and investigation were politically motivated, saying "the media are hiding the real intention of the Attorney General of the Republic, (which is) to impose a version (of events) that's in his interest, especially at a time like this, in his reelection campaign for the post he now holds" and accusing Janot of "using my name, my image, my possessions to make himself look better."

Authorities had been investigating Collor for some time and in July seized three of his luxury cars from his home in Brazil's capital Brasilia. They have refused his request to return them, saying the vehicles were bought with illicit funds.

Collor, who served as president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, was Brazil's first democratically-elected president following two decades of military dictatorship. He was forced to resign after less than two years in office, in an attempt to avoid impeachment proceedings by the Senate, also on corruption charges.

He was barred from political office for a stated period but returned in 2006 as senator for the state of Alagoas, a position he still occupies.