Ontario Provincial Police have laid charges against two Toronto city councilors in relation to the 2014 Toronto municipal election.

The charges, laid Friday under the Municipal Elections Act, stem from an investigation by the OPP’s Anti-Rackets Branch.

OPP say the probe began in Sept. 2017 after they received a “request for assistance” from the Toronto Police Service.

That request was related to a referral from the city’s integrity commissioner.

Mark Grimes and Justin Di Ciano were charged Friday with one count of filing a document that is incorrect or does not otherwise comply with the Municipal Elections Act.

Grimes was reelected in the Etobicoke-Lakeshore area, now called Ward 3, in the October municipal election. He was first elected to city council in 2003.

His lawyer, Peter Brauti, suggested in a statement to CP24 Friday that the allegation made against Grimes was done for “political purposes.”

“Councillor Grimes has done nothing wrong. An allegation has been made that he should have made additional financial disclosure for his campaign from four years ago. No such disclosure was required,” Brauti wrote.

“There is no credible evidence to support the allegation which was made for political purposes.”

Di Ciano did not run for re-election in the fall election but is considered a city councillor until Nov. 30.

Di Ciano’s lawyers provided CTV News Toronto with a statement on on his client’s behalf shortly after the charges were announced.

“Our client looks forward to setting the record straight on any alleged clerical errors in his 2014 campaign expense return,” Scott K. Fenton wrote in the statement. “The real offence here is the extraordinary waste of scarce government resources spent chasing down minor alleged oversights regarding a long-forgotten municipal election campaign.”

Both Di Ciano and Grimes are due to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice on Dec. 19.

Mayor John Tory said he became aware of the charges this morning.

“These matters are now before the courts where both councillors have publicly said they will challenge these allegations. For that reason, I will be making no further comment at this time,” he said in a statement.

Few other details have been provided about the nature of the allegations, but OPP say the investigation is ongoing.

“The OPP will not comment further in order to protect the integrity of the investigation and any ensuring court processes,” they wrote in a news release.

They are encouraging anyone with information about the case to contact the OPP Anti-Rackets Branch or Crime Stoppers anonymously.