The police are handing over the investigation into election fraud to the public prosecutor’s office

Police are investigating allegations of fraud relating to the nomination papers for a Sinn Féin council candidate and have sent a file to the Crown Prosecution Service.

It followed complaints about an election form for Gerard Magee, who stood for Antrim and Newtownabbey District Council in the 2023 local elections.

Police interviewed three people and sent a file to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for review.

It is understood Mr Magee is not one of the three people referred to in the police file sent to the PPS.

Sinn Féin said it would be “inappropriate” to comment during an ongoing investigation.

Mr Magee was the party’s candidate in the Ballyclare area of ​​Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council last year.

He was unsuccessful, having received only 86 preferential votes.

But during the election campaign it emerged that the council had received a number of complaints about “fraudulent subscriptions” linked to its nomination papers.

The allegations were mentioned in Parliament last year by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Jim Shannon.

He told MPs that a man listed as one of Mr Magee’s applicants had become a “victim of identity fraud”.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the victim does not know Gerard Magee and has not signed his nomination papers,” the Strangford MP said in the House of Commons.

The council sought advice from the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) launched an investigation.

According to BBC News NI, police submitted a file on three people to the PPS last month.

A PSNI spokeswoman said: “Detectives have carried out a number of inquiries following reports of fraudulent activity relating to a voting form in the Antrim and Newtownabbey area.”

“As part of our investigation, three people were interviewed and a file was then forwarded to the public prosecutor’s office for instructions.”

The PPS confirmed that it had “received a police investigation file into this case”.

“The evidence will be examined by a prosecutor in accordance with the PPS Code for Prosecutors and a decision will be made in due course,” a spokesman added.

Sinn Féin and Mr Magee have been contacted for comment.

A party spokesman said: “It would be inappropriate to make comments that could affect the outcome of an ongoing investigation.”

In a previous statement at the start of the police investigation last year, Sinn Féin said its nominations for the Ballyclare area were “submitted in full compliance with the Electoral Office’s rules”.