Brazilian Finance Minister Antonio Palocci on Friday was accused of receiving 50,000 reales (about 20,000 US dollars) a month in bribes at the time he was mayor of Ribeirao Preto city in Sao Paulo State.

In a testimony before the police, lawyer Rogerio Buratti, former aide to Palocci when he was the mayor, said Leao y Leao company had offered Palocci a monthly bribe in order to guarantee a garbage collection contract in the city.

Buratti, who faces corruption charges, said he suspected the money was delivered to the headquarters of the Workers' Party -- President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's ruling party -- and its former treasurer Delubio Soares, the testimony transcript said.

In an official statement, Palocci "vehemently denied" the accusation and said he received contributions from Leao y Leao as well as from other service companies during his last electoral campaign, but they were all duly registered.

Leao y Leao denied the bribery as well.

Palocci was elected mayor of Ribeirao Preto for the second time in 2000, but he resigned in 2002 in order to accept the post of the Finance Ministry in Lula's government. He worked for Lula's presidential campaign.

According to prosecutor Sebastiao Silveira, the money went directly to the Workers' Party's directorate and was under former Treasurer Delubio Soares' care.

Soares is accused of being the main figure in a multimillion dollar scheme to bribe legislators from parties allied to the Workers' Party so that they would support the initiatives Lula sent to Congress.

Buratti was arrested this week for enquiries about the money during contract negotiations between private companies and the public sector.

Source: Xinhua