"I fear nothing," he said, after being interrogated on Friday over allegations that he received millions of dollars in illegal payments.
Lula, a left-wing icon, left office in 2011. His Workers' Party has been hit hard by the long-running scandal.
His brief detention led to clashes outside his home near Sao Paulo.
In the first statement after his interrogation, he told reporters: "If they wanted to hear from me, they only had to call and I would have gone, because I owe nothing to anyone and fear nothing."
The Petrobras inquiry, known as Operation Car Wash, has led to criminal proceedings against dozens of business executives and Workers' Party figures accused of taking part in the multibillion-dollar corruption scheme.
The Workers' Party has held the Brazilian presidency since 2003, both under Lula and his successor Dilma Rousseff.
In the latest operations, police enforced 33 search and 11 detention warrants in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Bahia, officials said.
Lula, 70, is suspected of receiving about 30m reais ($8m; £5.6m) in speaking fees and donations to his charity, the Lula Institute.
His home in Sao Bernardo do Campo was among the premises targeted, as was the headquarters of the institute in Sao Paulo.
Prosecutor Carlos Fernando dos Santos Lima said: "Among the five largest donors to the Lula Institute, 60% of all the donations were paid by the five largest businessmen involved in the Car Wash scandal."
A police statement quoted by Reuters news agency said: "There is evidence that the crimes enriched him and financed electoral campaigns and the treasury of his political group."
However, no charges have been brought against Lula so far.
The institute said in a statement (in Portuguese) the "violence" against the former president was "arbitrary, illegal and unjustifiable", as he had been co-operating with the investigations.
The Workers' Party called the operation a "political spectacle".
Fonte: BBC
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário