A British man being investigated over the disappearance of a four-year-old girl in Portugal said he had been made a scapegoat in the case, which has drawn international attention.
Robert Murat has gone into hiding since he was formally made a suspect over the disappearance of Madeleine "Maddie" McCann and his home was searched.
Portuguese police said however that they did not have enough evidence to arrest him.
He told a British television channel: "This has ruined my life and made my life very difficult for my family here and in Britain."
Murat, who had worked for police during the hunt for the girl and also for Sky television, would not appear on screen.
But Sky quoted him as saying: "The only way I will survive this is if they catch Madeleine's abductor ... I've been made a scapegoat for something I did not do."
Police on Wednesday searched the apartment of a Russian man in Praia da Luz, where the girl went missing. SIC television showed officers carrying away two computers from the apartment in the presence of the man and his parents.
Police did not name him, but media reports identified him as Sergei Malinka. Reports described him as being in his 30s and said he had created the Web site for Murat's real estate agency.
Murat was made a formal suspect late on Tuesday after more than 12 hours of police questioning. An unidentified German woman and a Portuguese man were also questioned but released without being identified as suspects.
Portuguese police did not name Murat, saying only that their formal suspect was a 33-year-old man who had cooperated with the investigation.
Detectives "don't have enough elements that could lead to his arrest," inspector Olegario de Sousa told reporters.
Murat lives with his mother close to the holiday complex where Madeleine disappeared on May 3. She had been left sleeping with her twin siblings while her parents ate in a nearby restaurant.
RSS