BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The former head of Hungary's swimming federation has denied any role in the 1998 killing of a rival media mogul.

Tamas Gyarfas is suspected of ordering the death of Janos Fenyo. He said at the start of his trial Tuesday that he had nothing to admit related to the killing. He says violence isn't in his nature.

Prosecutors believe Gyarfas paid intermediaries to arrange the killing because of personal and business conflicts with Fenyo. Gyarfas rejected a plea deal that would have included 12 years in prison.

A Slovak man, Josef Rohac, was sentenced to life in prison in 2017 for the murder. Fenyo was gunned down on Feb. 11, 1998, while sitting in his car at a Budapest traffic light.

The trial is scheduled to continue in February.