Bahamas Immigration Minister Shane Gibson has resigned following a wave of controversy over his relationship with the late model Anna Nicole Smith.
Photos appeared in a Bahamas newspaper recently showing Gibson in bed with the former Playboy Playmate before her death.
Both were fully clothed, but the pictures sparked controversy because Gibson had fast-tracked her application for permanent residency on the island chain.
"I want to apologise to all persons who may, in any way, may have been offended by anything that I have said, done, or perceived to have said or done," Gibson said on state TV, declaring that he was resigning.
Smith, who died on February 8 in Hollywood, lived in the Bahamas in a house that a South Carolina developer claims to own.
Smith said the gated, waterfront mansion was hers when she applied for residency in the Bahamas last year.
Prime Minister Perry Christie said he accepted Gibbon's resignation.
"However sad Shane's decision to resign may be, I also believe, as does he, that it is the correct course of action for him to take in all of the circumstances," the Prime Minister said on TV.
Gibson stated emphatically during a special broadcast on the national television station that, although he was stepping down, he was not admitting any accusations against him, calling them "vicious and wicked lies".
"I unconditionally deny that I ever abused my ministerial office by granting Anna Nicole Smith any permit of which she was undeserving or for which she was not qualified under the laws of the Bahamas," he said.
AP