Iceland's prime minister insists he will not resign after documents leaked in a media investigation linked him to an offshore company that would represent a serious conflict of interest.
News reports have alleged that Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson and his wife set up a company in the British Virgin Islands with the help of a Panamanian law firm at the centre of a massive tax evasion leak.
Read more: Cameron urged to take action amid data leak scandal
The reports have prompted calls for a no-confidence vote in parliament against him.
Going on Icelandic television, Mr Gunnlaugsson said he would not resign and added there was nothing new in the information contained in the Panama Papers data leak.
Iceland's foreign minister also said on a trip to India that the prime minister had not done anything illegal.
"There is nothing strange there," said Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, the minister for foreign affairs and external trade.
The revelation concerns the company Wintris Inc, which Mr Gunnlaugsson allegedly created in 2007 along with his partner at the time, Anna Sigurlaug Palsdottir, who is now his wife.
He allegedly sold his half of the company to Ms Palsdottir for one US dollar on December 31, 2009, the day before a new Icelandic law took effect that would have required him to declare the ownership of Wintris as a conflict of interest.
Wintris lost money as a result of the 2008 financial crash that crippled Iceland, and is claiming a total of 515 million Icelandic kronur (£3m) from the three failed Icelandic banks: Landsbanki, Glitnir, and Kaupthing.
Mr Gunnlaugsson has been accused of a serious conflict of interest. As prime minister, he was involved in reaching a deal for the banks' claimants.
Published reports about the prime minister's financial matters have brought quick condemnation from prominent Icelandic politicians.
Former Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir called for Mr Gunnlaugsson's resignation, as did Birgitta Jonsdottir, the popular head of the Pirate Party.
The opposition has called for a vote against the centre-right government. Protests are scheduled in Reykjavik outside parliament.
"Information on the involvement of current ministers in companies in tax havens was hidden from the Icelandic people before the last elections, and it is only right that they get to appraise the situation again," Arni Pall Arnason, leader of the centre-left Social Democratic Alliance, told the Morgunbladid newspaper.
Mr Gunnlaugsson, the head of the centre-right Progressive Party, began his four-year term in 2013, five years after Iceland's financial collapse.
"I have not considered quitting because of this matter nor am I going to quit because of this matter," Mr Gunnlaugsson told Iceland's parliament. "The government has had good results. Progress has been strong and it is important that the government can finish its work."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here