Born announced his immediate resignation from the position of president on Saturday after a report published in the Spiegel magazine revealed he had been paid 50,000 dollars into an account in Uruguay as part of the transfer.

Born, however, denies any illicit behaviour in the deal and has not ruled out returning to his duties once the issue has been resolved.

"I have not received any payments personally in the transfer of Roberto Silva," he said.

"Since these allegations are still in the air, it is only natural for me to leave my duties at Werder until a final explanation has been given."

Bremen chairman Willi Lemke accepted Born's decision, saying it was "greeted by the board" and that they are "working to reach a quick explanation of the issue".

"Werder Bremen is famed for its solid business management and such accusations damage our image," continued Lemke on the club's website.

"Therefore, we will be employing an independent and well-known economical examiner."

Roberto Silva joined Bremen from Sporting Cristal Lima in 2001 for a fee of 1.35 million dollars.

The money was not transferred directly to the Peruvian club, but instead landed in the account of an agency company.

Bremen's director of sport Klaus Allofs confirmed this was the "expressed wish of the club" and that such a method of payment is "common practice in South America".

He added that it is "nothing to do with us how the money is then split."