Prime minister Rishi Sunak is being investigated by parliament’s standards watchdog.

So what’s behind the case and what could happen next?

FactCheck takes a look.

Why is Rishi Sunak being investigated?

The standards commissioner, Daniel Greenburg opened an investigation into the prime minister on 13 April.

The matter under investigation is described as “declaration of an interest” involving paragraph 6 of the MPs’ Code of Conduct.

That clause says that MPs “must always be open and frank in declaring any relevant interest in any proceeding of the House or its committees, and in any communications with ministers, members, public officials or public office holders”.

Although the standard’s commissioner does not specify what is being investigated, the prime minister has recently faced questions about the shares that his wife, Akshata Murthy, has in the childcare agency Koru Kids.

A spokesperson for Number 10 told journalists this week: “We are happy to assist the commissioner to clarify how this has been transparently declared as a ministerial interest.”

The government announced in the spring budget that it will provide start-up grants for new childminders, including for those who choose to register with a childminder agency. Koru Kids is one of six childcare agencies listed on the government’s website and is expected to benefit from the policy.

At parliament’s liaison committee meeting on 28 March, Mr Sunak was asked by Labour MP Catherine McKinnell about the new start-up grants and whether he had anything to declare.

He replied: “No, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way.”

The next day, on 29 March, the i newspaper revealed that Companies House listed Ms Murthy as a shareholder in the organisation as recently as 6 March.

On 4 April, Mr Sunak sent a letter to the liaison committee saying he had declared the interest on the ministers’ register – which is to yet be published.

The letter said: “I note that there has been some media coverage relating to the minority stake my wife has in relation to the company Koru Kids.

“I was being asked questions by the committee in my capacity as prime minister.

“I would like to clarify for the parliamentary record that this interest has rightly been declared to the Cabinet Office.”

What happens next?

If the investigation finds that Mr Sunak has breached the rules, the commissioner can require him to apologise and set out steps to avoid any future errors.

He can also refer the prime minister to the Committee on Standards which has the power to suspend or expel MPs from parliament.