Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson has suspended her examination into the Nigel Wright-Mike Duffy scandal, according to a message from her office Thursday.

The release from the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner says the investigation was put on hold after it was confirmed earlier today to Dawson “that Mr. Wright is also being investigated in relation to the same subject matter to determine whether he has committed an offence under an Act of Parliament.”

The RCMP is also investigating the matter of Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff, having given $90,000 to Senator Duffy to help him pay off his debts to taxpayers. On Thursday afternoon, CBC reported the RCMP has launched a criminal investigation into the payment.

The Ethics Commissioner “cannot continue the examination until any investigation or charge in respect of the same subject matter has been finally dispensed of,” Dawson’s office said in its release Thursday.

Dawson’s move follows that of the Senate ethics officer, Lyse Ricard, who also suspended her investigation into the same matter earlier this month.

Earlier in June, the RCMP confirmed it was looking into whether Wright broke any laws when he gave Duffy $90,000. The RCMP’s investigation is being conducted in response to a letter New Democrat MP Charlie Angus sent in May, asking for the police to look into the matter.

At the time, Angus spoke to Dawson’s investigation abilities.

“Dawson has a very limited mandate. She can’t even talk to Mike Duffy and if the RCMP are involved, she’s out of the picture,” Angus told reporters on May 20. “The Senate ethics officer has no power to be a watchdog. She gets her marching orders from the internal meetings of the Senate … I find it hard to believe that the Senate ethics officer is going to go back to some of the people that may be worthy of investigation, to ask them if she should investigate them and then she has to bring her report to them and they get to decide.”

The prime minister has maintained he had no knowledge of Wright’s deal with Duffy until media reported the story in mid-May.