Brazilian president denies awareness of corruption scheme

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said that she was not aware about an alleged party corruption scheme linked to oil giant Petrobras.

Earlier this week, Veja news magazine carried a report accusing Rousseff and her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, of being aware of an alleged corruption scheme involving Petrobras, Xinhua reported.

The alleged scheme was first exposed by Paulo Roberto Costa, a former Petrobras director, who, after being arrested for alleged corruption, disclosed secrets of the oil firm in exchange for lenience.

Costa accused Rousseff's Workers' Party of receiving bribes from Petrobras. The allegations took a heavy toll on her presidential campaign.

In her TV campaign slot, Rousseff said Veja is committing a crime by publishing the story without any proof of the accusations.

"I cannot remain silent in the face of this act of electoral terrorism organised by Veja magazine and their silent partners. Without presenting any proof, and once more based on statements made by people from the crime world, the magazine tries to involve President Lula and I in the Petrobras episodes which are under court investigation," she said.

She accused Veja of trying to influence public opinion before Sunday's presidential runoff, as the most recent opinion poll has put her ahead of opposition candidate Aecio Neves.

"Every time a Workers' Party candidate is ahead in polls, the magazine tries desperately to influence the results," she said.

"This is absurd, this is a crime," the president said, demanding Veja be brought to justice.