EDMONTON — Elections Alberta has been asked to investigate political contributions Liberal Leader Raj Sherman made to his own party in possible violation of the provincial elections laws.

Documents obtained by the Herald suggest Sherman exceeded the $15,000 limit for donations three times in the past four years and donated double the limit this year through corporations he controls, but Sherman says the rules are “fuzzy” and if he broke any, it wasn’t done deliberately.

The donations were brought to the attention of Alberta’s chief electoral officer Glen Resler on Thursday by researcher Tony Clark, a former NDP staff member with an interest in provincial politics.

Clark said disclosure statements posted on the Elections Alberta website this year show Sherman made $15,000 donations to his party through the Rajnish Sherman Professional Corp. and Empress Group Ltd.

Corporate registry documents show Sherman is the lone shareholder of both corporations.

Under the provincial legislation, two corporations controlled by one person count as a single entity for election donation purposes.

However, if a donation was made on or after Sept. 29 during the 2014 byelection campaign, it would not exceed the limit because the limit doubles during election campaign periods.

Sherman said Friday he doesn’t believe he has violated the Alberta Election Financing and Contributions Disclosure Act.

“I, as an individual, haven’t exceeded anything and neither have any of the corporations,” he said. “These are separate donations from separate entities. As far as I am aware, under the law I can do that.”

Sherman, who still works shifts as an emergency room doctor, said the professional corporation was established for his medical practice and the Empress Group is his investment holding company.

He said he was advised by Elections Alberta on Friday that the 2014 donation, if it is found to exceed the limit, can be returned without penalty since the year has not ended and the final results have not yet been filed.

Clark also found disclosure documents that suggest Sherman made a total of $46,000 in donations to the Alberta Liberal Party through the Empress Group since 2011, exceeding the donation limit by $4,000 in 2012 and $2,000 in 2011.

Elections Alberta said it will look into the complaint to determine whether an investigation is warranted, but spokesman Drew Westwater said Sunday it can’t prosecute offences that occurred in 2011 because there is a three-year statute of limitations.

“We can’t administer an administrative penalty or prosecute them if it’s more three years old, but we can look into them and request they return the funds,” he said.

He also confirmed the Liberal party can return $15,000 of the $30,000 it received from Sherman this year if the donation is found to exceed the limit.

Sherman said the donations he made in 2012 also fell in an election year so it isn’t clear whether they exceed the limit.

He said he doesn’t think he violated the rules, but if he did, it was “an honest mistake.”

“If there is a problem, I would like to rectify it,” Sherman said.

But he was adamant he wouldn’t step down if he is found in violation of the act.