The funeral home in the Bahamas that prepared and transported the body of singer Aaliyah has reportedly accused Virgin Records of not paying the bill.

Loretta Turner, of Butlers Funeral Homes and Crematorium in Nassau, told Time Magazine $68,000 (£44,000) was spent preparing the singer's body, and those of eight other passengers killed in a small plane crash in August 2001.

At the time Virgin executives Ken and Nancy Berry were said to have agreed to cover all of the expenses incurred, Ms Turner told Time.

However, the husband and wife team have since left the record company, and the funeral bill has not been paid.

"Because Aaliyah was, in their words, 'high profile', they asked us to expedite things," Ms Turner said.

The deal was all verbal, but the truth of the matter is, Virgin knew they were obliged

Loretta Turner, Butlers Funeral Homes

"So we were working over the weekend to get the bodies out as quickly as possible. The deal was all verbal, but the truth of the matter is, they knew they were obliged."

Ms Turner has since tried to contact executives at Virgin Records, and has even appealed to the US Embassy in Nassau for help, but has failed to resolve the situation.

"They have kept us waiting for nearly a year and have basically said, since the Berrys are no longer there, they have no responsibility to us," she said.

Although the funeral home is currently not taking legal action, Ms Turner has contacted Robert Spragg, the lawyer for the late singer's parents, Michael and Diane Haughton.

According to Ms Spragg, Virgin Records also owes the Haughtons money for funeral costs.

"Those payments were never made to the family to reimburse those costs, and they were substantial," he told Time Magazine.

They are currently suing Virgin Records, alleging negligence and recklessness caused the crash.

The exact cause of the crash remains a mystery

A Virgin Records spokesperson said the company had no comment to make.

Aaliyah's death occurred just as her music was about to place her in the big league of female R&B; stars, and she had also begun a film career.

Eight other people died along with the 22-year-old when the twin-engine Cessna plane taking her back to the US from a video shoot in the Bahamas, crashed on take-off.

Aviation officials recently revealed that traces of cocaine and alcohol were found in the pilot's system during an autopsy.

However, the exact cause of the crash is still unknown, as the plane was overloaded, carrying nine passengers instead of the maximum eight, and corrosion was discovered in the fuel tank.