Attorney General George Chanos wants the FBI to take over the investigation into developer Bill Walters' deals with the city of Las Vegas, saying accusations by Walters make it a conflict of interest for him to continue the probe.

Walters said he believed Chanos was trying "to get even with me" because the golf course developer didn't sell the Royal Links Golf Club to one of Chanos' former clients, Walters said in a KLAS-TV, Channel 8 television interview that aired Thursday.

Chanos on Thursday angrily denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations an "absolute fantasy."

Chanos met with Steven Martinez, special agent in charge of the Las Vegas office, on Thursday morning.

He requested the federal agency take over the ongoing investigation into deals the city made with Walters related to the Royal Links Golf Club, as well as Walters' allegations against Chanos.

The FBI has not made a decision on whether to take on the investigation, Chanos said.

The FBI could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Walters said Thursday he has nothing to hide.

"Anybody and everybody can ask any questions whatsoever about any business dealings I've had with the city," he said. "All they have to do is ask me."

A scathing report in October, commissioned by the Attorney General, said that it appeared the city of Las Vegas had granted Walters a number of political and financial favors related to the Royal Links Golf Club.

The report left the decision of criminal charges up to the attorney general.

The city backed off the land deal after Chanos announced the investigation.

Walters would have paid the city $7.2 million in return for being allowed to build 1,200 houses next to the city's sewage plant.

Chanos said that in order for the deal to be fair to taxpayers, the payment from Walters would have had to include approximately $30 million in odor improvements that could be required at the sewage plant.

Also, the payment from Walters would have to correct past decisions made by the city that cost the taxpayers millions of dollars, Chanos said.

That could add tens of millions of dollars to the amount Walters would have to pay to the city, Chanos has said.

Since the report's release, Chanos has maintained that the investigation is ongoing. Thursday, he pointed where the probe could go.

"Whether or not there were any payoffs. Whether or not anyone received any money. There's quite a bit left to investigate," he said.

He also suggested the FBI look into whether city-issued bids secured by Walters for the golf course were rigged.

The investigators at the law firm Senn Meulemans, hired by the state, did not have subpoena powers and did not speak with Walters or former Las Vegas Public Works Director Richard Goecke, who was a key figure in a number of the city's controversial decisions.

Passing the investigation to federal officials would also take it out of the hands of his successor, Attorney General-elect Catherine Cortez Masto, who takes office on Jan. 1.

"It's not my decision at this point in time," she said. "I'm not going to second-guess him at this time."

She added that if the FBI accepts the case, she would be happy to work with them.

If not, though, she said she still hasn't made up her mind on whether the investigation would continue.

"I expect to have a full and thorough briefing once I've been sworn-in and take office," she said. "That does not mean a moratorium on any cases currently being investigated by the office. I'm going to very seriously look at the facts and evidence."

She has met with Chanos, and said she was briefed by him and is supportive of the investigation moving forward until she takes office.

Chanos said if the FBI declines to investigate, "then I'd recommend the incoming Attorney General Cortez Masto pick up where the investigation left off."

In the Channel 8 interview with journalist George Knapp, Walters said the idea of turning the Royal Links Golf Club into a residential development came from a real estate firm on behalf of developer Brett Torino.

Walters said, "What was told to me was that Chanos, the attorney general, has been Brett Torino's business partner, his attorney for many years, and that Torino raised $180,000 for him for his re-election campaign, and they're married at the hip.

"Once I heard that, it was obvious to me it was part of his motivation for him and Torino to get even with me because I wouldn't sell my property to Torino," Walters told Knapp.

He went on to say that he believed that Chanos was likely involved with Torino's attempt to buy the golf course.

Chanos called the accusations "unbelievable. Entirely untrue."

"I told the special agent in charge that I'd gleefully submit to a polygraph," Chanos said. "I'll happily provide testimony to a grand jury, meet with other FBI investigators or help in any other forum."

Chanos, appointed to the office in October 2005, decided not to run for re-election.

Chanos said he talked to Torino, a friend and former client, on Thursday night. Torino told him he never made an offer on the land and Walters never rejected any offer.

Instead, Torino told Chanos he was approached by a third party about the proposal to build homes on the 160-acre golf course, but Torino never got involved.

Thursday's interview, "was the first I've heard anything about this," Chanos said. "It has absolutely nothing to do with the investigation."

Torino did not respond to a call for comment Thursday.