Saskatchewan Culture, Youth and Recreation Minister Glenn Hagel has announced he's stepping down from cabinet while police look into a case of alleged fraud at the New Democrat caucus.

Hagel hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing, but said Wednesday that he takes the integrity of the legislature very seriously and so will leave NDP cabinet until police inquiries into the alleged case of fraud has been cleared up.

Glenn Hagel didn't answer questions from reporters Wednesday after he told them he was resigning from cabinet.
(CBC)

"I'm here to tell you today that the premier has accepted my offer to step aside while the review is being done," he told reporters shortly after 1 p.m. CT Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the Regina Police Service said it had asked the RCMP to investigate city police files related to the 15-year-old case.

The Opposition Saskatchewan Party has repeatedly raised questions about the investigation into a former NDP caucus worker who admitted she took money she wasn't entitled to — about $6,000 — from caucus funds. It has accused the NDP of covering up a crime.

At the time the money was taken, 1992, Hagel was the caucus chair and co-signed some cheques the former staffer, Ann Lord, had altered.

The Opposition had been demanding to know why charges were never laid, even though police were eventually notified. A few weeks ago, the NDP caucus's chief of staff resigned after briefing Hagel, who then made what he admitted were misleading remarks in the legislature about the case.

Premier Lorne Calvert at the time rejected opposition calls for Hagel to resign.

While the RCMP looks into the case, Hagel will remain in the legislature as the MLA for Moose Jaw North.

Questions were also raised by the New Democrats about how confidential police files ended up in the hands of the Saskatchewan Party.

In April, the Opposition tabled leaked police reports from 1992 and 1994 in the legislature.

The Regina police said Wednesday that the issue will not be investigated by the RCMP, but is under internal review.