Spain's acting industry minister has resigned after being linked in the Panama Papers leak to offshore dealings on the island of Jersey.
Denying all wrongdoing, Jose Manuel Soria said he was stepping down to limit any damage to the caretaker government, the People's Party (PP), as it approaches a general election in June.
He was named in the tax leak - which has also toppled Iceland's Prime Minister - as having links to the tax haven Jersey.
Jose Manuel Soria has resigned from his Industry Minister role after the Panama Papers said he was an administrator of an offshore firm for two months in 1992, triggering further investigation by Spanish media
Iceland Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson (pictured) resigned on April 5 following the revelations
His resignation comes at a time when Spain is facing the likelihood of a second general election in June after an inconclusive December vote.
Mr Soria said he was quitting due to 'the succession of mistakes committed along the past few days, relating to my explanations over my business activities'.
He added this was doing 'obvious harm' to the Spanish caretaker government of which he was a member.
Mr Soria's troubles began on Monday when Spanish online daily El Confidencial, which has had access to the Panama Papers - leaked from law firm Mossack Fonseca - said he had was an administrator of an offshore firm for two months in 1992.
He called a news conference to deny any link to any Panamanian company, but as the week went by, more allegations emerged from other media outlets, revealing further alleged connections to offshore havens.
It is unclear as yet whether any of his alleged actions were illegal.
The latest polls have shown the PP gaining ground, despite a string of corruption scandals involving regional politicians this year, as voters tire of left-wing parties' failure to put aside differences to form a coalition government.
Leaks from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca have embarrassed several world leaders and shone a spotlight on the shadowy world of offshore companies by revealing the financial arrangements of prominent figures.
Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson stepped down earlier this month after documents linked him to an offshore company.
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