Neapolitan entrepreneur, political donor and corruption suspect Alfredo Romeo has never met former centre-left premier Matteo Renzi's father Tiziano Renzi or bribed anyone his lawyers stated on Monday.
''He has never paid money to anyone and he never met Renzi's father or anybody linked to the ex-premier's entourage," said Romeo's lawyers.
Romeo had been bidding for a 2.5 billion euro contract connected to Consip, the state-owned company that manages public procurement, when he was arrested on Thursday for suspected graft.
But his Romeo's lawyers also denied wrongdoing by their client connected to Consip.
"He did not have a privileged relationship but was marginalised within Consip. Far from being a corruptor, he was cheated several times," the laywers stated.
Romeo availed himself of the right to remain silent during his questioning by magistrates on Monday at Rome's Regina Coeli prison, where he is being held.
Tiziano Renzi is under investigation for allegedly seeking to illicitly influence Consip decisions in a graft probe that has also ensnared sports minister and close Renzi ally Luca Lotti.
Renzi's father and Lotti - who allegedly tipped off Consip management to the probe - both deny wrongdoing.
The Consip probe is a set-back for Renzi ahead of next month's Democratic Party (PD) leadership primaries in which he is seeking a new, stronger mandate and also for the PD itself.
The probe threatens to damage the PD's credibility ahead of national elections due within a year, and the main opposition party, the anti-corruption grassroots Five Star Movement has already pounced on the investigation.
Five Star's leader Beppe Grillo on his blog demanded Lotti's resignation last week calling the Consip scandal "an atomic bomb in Italian politics".
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