The Police Service of Northern Ireland is examining allegations of misuse of expenses by Stormont Assembly members.
The allegations, arising from a BBC Spotlight investigation, include a claim that Sinn Féin MLAs drew down nearly £700,000 in expenses for research conducted by a company run by the party’s finance managers.
The PSNI said officers from its serious crime branch were assessing the claims of “potential criminality”.
The series of allegations against a number of Assembly members were outlined in two recent documentaries, the second of which aired Tuesday night.
The programmes focused on how representatives of the Assembly’s two largest parties - the DUP and Sinn Féin - claimed money over the last decade.
As well asallegations about spending on research, the investigation also raised questions about the use of public money at a number of DUP and Sinn Féin constituency offices.
Both parties have defended their actions and criticised the BBC coverage.
The SDLP and Ulster Unionists have also moved to counter claims made against some of their representatives.
A spokesman for the PSNI said all the allegations were now being assessed by officers.
“Detectives from serious crime branch are currently scoping allegations of potential criminality made in recent media reports,” he said.
Alliance Party leader and justice minister David Ford called for police to step in.
“It is absolutely clear from what we saw on the Spotlight programme that there is a significant suspicion that a number of MLAs abused the expenses system,” he said.
“The Assembly needs to bring in external forensic auditors for all current and previous expenses claims and allow the police to investigate the allegations made in the Spotlight programme. We are talking about potential fraud in the region of tens of thousands of pounds.”
Mr Ford said it was vital that there was “openness and transparency in politics and that the public can be confident that expenses are being used appropriately”.
PA