Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme tendered his government's resignation to King Albert II today over a legal scandal linked to the break-up of Fortis bank.
'The cabinet has decided to tender the resignation of the entire government to the king,' a spokesman said.
The king can choose to accept the resignation, reject it, or call for a period of reflection, as he did in the past, as Leterme struggled to hold a government together amid a power-sharing crisis.
Earlier, a top Belgian judge said that, after a preliminary inquiry, he had strong indications but no legal proof that Leterme's office had tried to influence an appeals court.
Belgium's government is locked in a complex legal battle with minority shareholders of the banking and insurance group Fortis over the sale of its Belgian assets to French bank BNP Paribas.
Leterme's office stands accused of trying unsuccessfully to persuade the appeals court not to grant a legal appeal by the shareholders against the break-up issued a week ago.
Fortis group was hastily dismantled in October as the global financial crisis bit, with the Dutch state taking over its Dutch banking and insurance assets and the Belgian government taking over its Belgian banking business.
