RIO DE JANEIRO, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Michel Temer denied on Monday that his daughter, Maristela, had remodelled her house with money from bribes allegedly received by her father.
"It was a remodelling paid for regularly and fully clarified. I do not have the specifics of the statement that she made, but I know all was fine. No point was left unexplained," said Temer in an interview with television channel SBT.
Maristela Temer was interviewed about the matter by federal police in Sao Paulo on Thursday.
The police had received information that Maristela had remodelled her house with money delivered personally to her by Joao Baptista Lima, a close friend of President Temer.
In the interview, the president defended his friendship with Baptista Lima, saying the man "had been made a victim for being my friend."
The president also denied another accusation made against him, namely that he had helped a company get access to contracts in Brazil's port sector last year.
Temer resisted answering the question about whether he would run for re-election in October.
Moving onto the economy, the president said that the country "is recovering little by little," after undergoing the worst recession in its history.
"Predictions are that it will grow this year between 2.5 and 3 percent, we are talking of 2.75 percent," Temer explained.
