Brazil's former Finance Minister Guido Mantega admitted on Monday to owning an undeclared bank account in Switzerland which holds 600,000 US dollars.

Mantega served as finance minister from 2006 to 2015, during most of the term of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He then served under Lula's successor Dilma Rousseff during her first term. He was also minister of planning and budget from 2003 to 2004. 

Mantega said the account was opened before he became a minister and denied that it was the result of a bribe. He said the money was from the sale of a family property.

Jose Roberto Batochio, lawyer for Guido Mantega, talks to journalists in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sept. 22, 2016. The banner reads "Lula to Prison". /VCG Photo

Mantega authorized Brazilian authorities full access to his bank and fiscal information. He said he would present documents that would show all transactions and prove the source of the money once he receives them from the bank.

Mantega released a statement in which he acknowledged his mistake in not having declared the money and said he did not expect any sort of lenience in the matter. But he denied asking for favors or bribes in exchange for anything while in public service.

Guido Mantega (R) is escorted by federal police officers as he arrives at the Federal Police headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sept. 22, 2016. /VCG Photo

The former minister is under investigation as part of the Carwash Operation, a major Federal Police inquiry that is unraveling a large bribery scheme involving contracts between the government and the private sector. He is suspected of demanding bribes for campaigns of the Workers Party in 2012. 

The investigation is still ongoing and Mantega has not been officially accused.

(Source: Xinhua)