Frankfurt Mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD), who was accused by the public prosecutor's office of accepting benefits in connection with the AWO scandal, described the allegations against him as "unfounded and excessive".
"The statements made by the public prosecutor's office in the meantime have not changed anything," said Feldmann, who is on a trip with a business delegation to Singapore, in writing.
However, he trusts in the independence of the courts and is "firmly convinced that my innocence will be proven," the statement said.
Feldmann announced that he would not "hide" himself, but he wanted to "use a sense of proportion" in public appearances and events.
The Mayor of Frankfurt also writes: "The concerns that are expressed there must not be overshadowed by the current situation." Feldmann wrote as a reason for this approach that the well-being of the city is above all for him.
FDP demands immediate resignation
Just because he doesn't go into details doesn't mean "I have something to hide," Feldmann said.
It's out of respect for the process.
"I am simply prohibited from quoting from the files available to me."
Demands had been raised from Frankfurt's city politicians that the mayor had to give up his office.
As the first party in the four-party coalition in Römer, made up of the Greens, SPD, FDP and Volt, the FDP had called for Feldmann's immediate resignation on Monday evening.
The former member of the Bundestag Hans-Joachim Otto even demanded at a general meeting that Feldmann had to "vacate the field as quickly as possible in order to avert further damage to the city".
A clear majority at the meeting voted for his immediate resignation.