An MP allegedly deceived staff at South Australia's Parliament House to make $54,000 in false claims for a taxpayer-funded allowance, court documents reveal.
Embattled MP Troy Bell allegedly made more than $54,000 in false claims for a taxpayer-funded allowance, court documents reveal.The charges relate to Country Members Accommodation Allowance claimsCourt documents allege he collected $54,424 over five years by deceiving staff at South Australia's parliament — who approved the payment of the Country Members Accommodation Allowance — "by falsely claiming he was entitled to be paid".
The independent MP strongly denied the charges and said he was aware "similar allegations" were levelled against other country MPs, "some of whom have since admitted to incorrectly claiming travel allowances". "It is not immediately clear to me why a decision has been made to criminally charge me and not others, or why the authorities have waited until now to serve these charges upon me," Mr Bell said.
The allowance is a nightly payment made to regional MPs who need to be in the city overnight for work and whose usual place of residence is more than 75 kilometres from Adelaide. Since the ABC began investigating the CMAA last year, more than $100,000 in incorrect or questionable claims have been identified.the ABC revealed Mr Bell had entered an arrangement to repay $42,728 in Country Members Accommodation Allowance claimed from the SA Parliament since 2014He did not explain why he was making the repayment at the time, only saying it was "out of an abundance of caution".
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