Brazil’s Temer gets 84 questions from police

Brasilia, June 6 (IANS) Brazilian President Michel Temer has received 84 questions from the federal police, as part of an investigation against him for alleged corruption.

Temer, who received the questions on Monday, has 24 hours to respond to them in writing, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.

According to the G1 news portal, Temer's defence team was surprised to receive the questions, after the Supreme Court authorised the procedure last week.

However, Justice Edson Fachin, who approved the written interrogation, said Temer was not obliged to answer them all.

The questions address the confession made by Joesley Batista, owner of the JBS meat-packing group, to prosecutors, including the presentation of a tape in which Temer can seemingly be heard approving bribes for former House Speaker Eduardo Cunha.

Temer has rejected all accusations against him and refused to step down, despite growing political opposition, including by former allies.

Police sent the questions to Temer a day before the country's top electoral court opens a hearing into supposed irregularities during the 2014 electoral campaign.

Temer, who stood as the running mate of impeached former President Dilma Rousseff, is accused of receiving illegal campaign funding from the Petrobras corruption ring.

If the judges conclude this illegal financing was received, they could invalidate Rousseff and Temer's electoral victory and remove the President from office.