FILE - In this June 11, 2021 record photograph Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz speaks during a quality league astir the results of the concern gathering with Lithuanian's Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte successful Vienna, Austria. (AP Photo/Lisa Leutner, file)

FILE - In this June 11, 2021 record photograph Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz speaks during a quality league astir the results of the concern gathering with Lithuanian's Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte successful Vienna, Austria. (AP Photo/Lisa Leutner, file) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

BERLIN – Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is denying wrongdoing and vowing to stay the country's person aft anti-corruption prosecutors said helium is nether probe successful a probe of suspected bribery.

Prosecutors said Wednesday they are conducting an probe into Kurz and 9 different people, arsenic good arsenic 3 organizations it didn’t identify, connected suspicion of breach of spot and bribery. They conducted searches astatine the chancellery, the concern ministry and the offices of Kurz's blimpish Austrian People's Party.

The lawsuit centers connected allegations that concern ministry wealth was utilized betwixt 2016 and astatine slightest 2018 to wage for manipulated polls that were published successful a paper without being declared arsenic advertising. Kurz became his party's person and past chancellor successful 2017 aft antecedently serving arsenic Austria’s overseas minister.

In a abstracted case, the 35-year-old chancellor was put nether investigation successful May by anti-corruption authorities connected suspicion of making mendacious statements to a parliamentary commission, an allegation helium has besides rejected.

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Kurz rejected work successful the latest lawsuit successful an interrogation Wednesday nighttime with ORF nationalist television.

“There is perfectly nary denotation that I directed what adverts oregon polls were commissioned astatine the concern ministry," helium said. He said that substance messages from him incorporate nary instructions oregon requests, “and astatine the aforesaid clip prosecutors enactment the mentation retired determination that everything is directed by Kurz.”

The chancellor said helium was “very calm” astir the accusations.

“What I can't recognize is wherefore I americium ever expected to beryllium to blasted for each wrongdoing,” helium added. “Let's analyse whether these accusations against concern ministry employees are true. With the champion volition successful the world, I can't ideate it.”

Asked whether helium volition stay chancellor successful presumption of the investigations against him, Kurz replied: “Yes, of course.”

Senior People’s Party officials person claimed that media leaks successful caller days astir planned searches were intended to wounded the enactment and Kurz.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.