Mac Maharaj has resigned as a director and an employee of South African financial services group FirstRand Group (FSR) and as a director of seven subsidiary boards on which he serves, FirstRand said on Thursday.

Maharaj's resignation will be effective from 31 August.

The group said in a statement on Thursday that the board of FirstRand has accepted Maharaj's resignation.

The Board has approved that an amount of R1,092-million - comprising pay in lieu of notice, leave pay, and pro-rata bonus for the year ending 30 June 2003 - is due to Maharaj.

"This payment represents what Mr Maharaj is legally owed by all the companies in the FirstRand Group of which he was a director, and as an employee of FirstRand Bank," the group said.

Maharaj's resignation comes after the conclusion of a four-month independent enquiry into newspaper allegations of corrupt practices by Maharaj.

In February, FirstRand commissioned an investigation of allegations that Maharaj received R500 000 from businessman Schabir Shaik before he quit his position as South Africa's transport minister in 1998.

The final report was submitted to the Board by accountancy firm Deloitte & Touche and attorneys Hofmeyer Herbstein & Ginwala on July 30 and Maharaj had seven days to submit a response to the findings of the report.

Maharaj offered to either resign or take a leave of absence in February when the original allegations appeared in the Sunday Times newspaper. The Board felt that to accept his resignation at that point would have led to a presumption of guilt, and therefore chose the option of granting Maharaj leave of absence.

The full report has been submitted to the group's regulators, the Bank Supervision Department of the South African Reserve Bank and the Financial Services Board. The Bank Supervision Department and the Financial Services Board are also in possession of Maharaj's response to the findings of the report and the investigating team's assessment of his submission.

The report investigated the accusations and implied accusations of criminality or corruption and an alleged breach of the Parliamentary Protocol as contained the Sunday Times article of 16 February 2003.

FirstRand said the Board has accepted the report's finding that the investigative team did not find any evidence to substantiate allegations of corruption and did not find any evidence linking payments from Shaik to Mr Maharaj or Mrs Maharaj to the awards of the N3 Toll Roads and Drivers Licence contracts.

Maharaj believes however that given the current emotional debate being publicly waged around his personal affairs, his continued association with FirstRand may lead to further negative publicity for the group.

He consequently submitted his resignation.

Under the circumstances the Board has accepted his resignation, FirstRand said.

With acknowledgement to the Mail and Guardian.