Kim Hjelmgaard, and Jessica Durando

USA TODAY

Iceland's prime minister became the first high-profile casualty over the leaked Panama Papers, stepping aside Tuesday following the disclosure of offshore assets that he and his wife held.

Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, 41, suggested that his Progressive Party's vice chairman serve as prime minister for “an unspecified amount of time,” and Gunnlaugsson will continue to be party leader, a government statement said.

Earlier in the day, Agriculture Minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson told Icelandic broadcaster RUV that Gunnlaugsson was stepping down, the Associated Press reported. But the statement issued by government press secretary Sigurdur Mar Jonsson said Gunnlaugsson had not resigned. Iceland’s president has not yet confirmed any leadership changes.

Gunnlaugsson was expected to face a no-confidence vote in Parliament on Thursday, Icelandic news site Vísir reported.

Gunnlaugsson on Monday denied any wrongdoing and told parliament he would not resign. Thousands protested outside the parliament building in Reykjavik over the disclosure that he owned an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands.

That posed a conflict of interest for him, because Gunnlaugsson had negotiated a deal for Iceland's bankrupt banks at a time when he was a claimant in those banks.

How anti-bank furor crushed Iceland's prime minister after Panama Papers

Gunnlaugsson and his wife allegedly set up the company with help from Mossack Fonseca — the Panama law firm at the heart of the leak. Gunnlaugsson told parliament that he and his wife had paid their taxes.

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The documents revealed Gunnlaugsson and his wife bought the offshore company in 2007, which he didn’t declare when entering parliament in 2009. The offshore company was used to invest millions of dollars of inherited money. Gunnlaugsson sold his 50% share of the company to his wife for $1 eight months later, the documents allege.

Panama Papers: Law firm linked to blacklisted firms, individuals