Brazil ex-president testifies before federal public prosecutors in influence peddling probe

Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and current President Dilma Rousseff attend the Central Workers Union annual convention in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine) (The Associated Press)

RIO DE JANEIRO – Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva testified Thursday before Brazilian federal prosecutors who are investigating allegations of influence peddling, the ex-leader's foundation said.

In a statement, the Instituto Lula said Silva voluntarily appeared for about 1 1/2 hours at the federal public prosecutor's office in the capital, Brasilia.

He was questioned in an investigation centering on trips Silva made to several developing nations, including Angola and Cuba, after leaving office. Prosecutors are looking into questions of whether Silva was paid to sway foreign leaders into awarding inflated contracts to Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht and pushed Brazil's state development bank to give the company well over $1 billion in low-interest loans.

Top executives at Odebrecht have been implicated in a separate kickbacks-for-contracts scheme at Brazil's state-run oil giant, Petrobras, a case has also engulfed other top Brazilian construction firms and leading lawmakers.

In his testimony, Silva denied any suggestion of impropriety in his activities, his foundation said.

"Lula stressed that he 'never interfered' in any contract concluded between the BNDES and private companies," the statement said, referring to the former leader by his nickname, as Silva is widely known in Brazil. "He always tried to spread the word about these companies abroad, aiming to generate jobs and currency for Brazil."

The statement said that "ex-presidents from the whole world" assume similar roles, adding that "he also stressed that this was a source of pride for him."

Under Brazilian law, influence peddling to obtain advantages from a public servant or institution is illegal.