Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell has vowed to defend himself against a raft of fraud charges laid allegedly relating to his Country Members Accommodation Allowance claims.

Fifty-two charges have been filed in the Adelaide Magistrates Court alleging Mr Bell had deceived another to benefit himself or a third person.

The charges arise from offences alleged to have been committed in Adelaide between May 2015 and April 2020.

They are understood to relate to claiming of the allowance while Mr Bell was staying in Adelaide.

“I will defend these allegations to the fullest extent so that my efforts can remain directed towards serving my community,” Mr Bell said.

“I have every intention of standing at the 2022 election and I want to assure my community they can have absolute trust in my words and actions as their state representative.

“In reference to the country member’s allowance I have co-operated with the ICAC investigation and have done so knowing that I have always acted honestly.

“I am aware that similar allegations have been levelled against a number of 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 his priority was the wellbeing of his electorate. 

“My community remains in the grip of a major public health crisis and they are only three months away from an election,” he said. 

“I remain strongly committed to my community. They are my sole priority at this time and my focus remains on their needs and how I can continue to support them.”

Earlier this year it was revealed Mr Bell had been repaying $42,728 to the SA Parliament for allowance claimed since 2014. Mr Bell started making repayments in April for 192 nights claimed under the allowance.

When news broke regarding the repayment Mr Bell said “out of an abundance of caution, the decision was made to repay the $42,728”.

The Country Members Accommodation 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 75km from Adelaide.

Fellow MPs Tim Whetstone, Stephan Knoll, Fraser Ellis, Terry Stephens and Adrian Pederick have all been caught up in claims surrounding their allowance claims.

Mr Ellis, who has since resigned from the Liberal Party, repaid $42,130 before an ICAC investigation resulted in criminal charges against him.

Mr Bell resigned from the Liberal Party four years ago after being charged with theft, also resulting from an ICAC investigation into his work running an education centre in Mount Gambier.

Mr Bell has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has steadfastly denied all wrong-doing since being charged.

Earlier this year the High Court granted Mr Bell special leave to appeal against the Supreme Court’s decision.

An ICAC spokeswoman said no comment would be made about any investigations.

“The commission does not play any role in laying charges or in any associated prosecution,” she said. 

“Recent changes to the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 2012 limit the commission’s ability to make public statements in relation to matters which have been the subject of an investigation.”