Hollande feels heat over ex-minister’s secret foreign bank account

French President Francois Hollande is facing rising pressure over a disgraced ex-minister’s secret foreign bank account, with the opposition saying the government no longer has the credibility to rule.

French Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac resigned his post on March 19, after prosecutors opened an investigation into tax fraud allegations, revealed by the Internet news site Mediapart last December.

Cahuzac had denied the allegations for several months, calling them “slanderous” and told the French parliament that, “I don’t have, I never have had accounts abroad.”

On Tuesday, Cahuzac was charged with laundering the proceeds of tax fraud after he admitted to having an undeclared Swiss bank account with about 600,000 euros (about 776,000 US dollars) for the past 20 years.

He asked for “forgiveness for the damage” he has caused to the French president and the government, and offered his “sincere and deepest apologies” to the French.

There are now growing calls in France for top government officials to resign over the scandal, accusing them of trying to cover up the scandal.

Jean-Francois Cope, the head of the main opposition right-wing UMP party, said the government had lost all credibility and that “the only solution possible… is a major government reshuffle, including Prime Minister” Jean-Marc Ayrault.

Hollande has denied the allegations of covering up for his minister and has announced that all ministers and members of parliament will have to declare their personal finances fully in future.

Seen as a pillar of the cabinet before his resignation, Cahuzac was responsible for making drastic government spending cuts and cracking down on tax evasion.