Sri Lanka's foreign minister resigned on Thursday after being accused of possessing a luxury apartment paid for by a businessman investigated for shady treasury bond transactions.
Ravi Karunanayake, who was the finance minister at the time the deals took place, told Parliament Thursday that he is resigning from the Cabinet to "set an example" to others and protect the government.
Karunanayake denied the allegations against him, saying they were baseless.
He has previously said the apartment deal was handled by his family and he was unaware of its contents or parties involved.
However, opposition lawmakers had been calling for Karunanayake to resign over conflict of interest and ethical issues.
The businessman is being investigated by a presidential commission for allegedly having inside information about bond transactions with the Central Bank.
President Maithripala Sirisena, who came into power promising to end corruption, has been under pressure to act against Karunanayake.
