Cover image via SAYS
Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson has been under intense pressure to step down ever since the Panama Papers issue broke out
Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson stepped down on Tuesday, 5 April.
Image via India.com
Thousands of Icelanders have been protesting in the streets to demonstrate against his administration, for allegedly using a shell company to shelter large sums while the country's economy was suffering a major crisis
People gathered during a protest on Austurvollur Square in front of the Icelandic Parliament in Reykjavic, Iceland, on 4 April.
Image via Birgir Por Hardarson/EPA
David Gunnlaugsson is the first major figure to resign from his post as a Prime Minister, following the Panama Papers exposé
Image via Vilhelm Gunnarsson
Meanwhile, major sites like Al Jazeera and CNN have reported that Iceland's Agriculture Minister, Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson has been appointed to replace the PM for an interim period
However, the Prime Minister's office in Iceland has issued a press statement to clarify that the PM has not resigned, but instead has stepped aside for the Progressive Party Vice-Chairman to take over "for an unspecified amount of time"
A screencap of Richard Milne's tweet about the full text of press release from Ithe Prime Minister's office in Iceland.
Image via @rmilneNordic/Twitter
The Guardian reported that many Icelanders were happy to hear that the PM has "resigned" but remained cynical as the same government is still in charge
One of the protester carrying a sign that reads, "Where is our new constitution?", outside the parliament in Reykjavik, Iceland on 4 April, 2016.
Image via Halldor Kolbeins/AFP/Getty Images
Aside from Gunnlaugsson, documents held by the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, revealed dozens of prominent public figures' names that are allegedly linked to secretive shell companies and offshore tax shelters
PM Najib Razak's son Nazifuddin Najib was among the Malaysian entities named in the Panama Papers, but no investigations have been launched on the matter to date
Image via Free Malaysia Today
