Italian Industry Minister Claudio Scajola resigned on Tuesday over a corruption investigation into his purchase of a Rome apartment.

Scajola told a news conference that he could no longer continue his duties as a minister.

Scajola, one of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's closest allies, has been under mounting pressure to resign after he was implicated in an underpaid real estate deal.

According to reports, Scajola paid well below the market price for an apartment he bought in Rome with the help of a businessman.