Andrew Langhoff, publisher of The Wall Street Journal Europe, resigned yesterday after an internal inquiry revealed that Journal editorial content could have been influenced by a business-side relationship, reports the New York Times.

The paper's circulation department had an arrangement with Netherlands consulting firm Executive Learning Partnership, which it had featured twice in its "Special Reports" section, in October 2010 and March of this year.

According to The Guardian, Dow Jones sponsored Executive Learning Partnership seminars, where they offered the companies that attended them cheap Wall Street Journal subscriptions to distribute to students, ultimately boosting circulation 41%.

“Because the agreement could leave the impression that news coverage can be influenced by commercial relationships, as publisher with executive oversight, I believe that my resignation is now the most honorable course,” Mr. Langhoff said in a statement.