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The RCMP’s criminal case against Sen. Mike Duffy emphasizes two figures: 31, the total number of charges Duffy faces; and $200,000, the value of the alleged frauds. Here’s a closer look at the charges, which have not been proven in court.

Q. How does the alleged $200,000 break down?

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A. First, there is the $90,172.24 for Duffy’s disputed housing claims. The RCMP allege Duffy’s primary residence was in Ottawa, not in Cavendish, P.E.I., which would have made him ineligible for the annual housing allowances he had claimed. Then there is $50,000 in expense claims that the RCMP allege Duffy filed for days when he wasn’t travelling on Senate business. Finally, there is more than $60,000 worth of contracts to an acquaintance from his days at CTV.

Q. Is the $90,172.24 for the payment from Nigel Wright?

A. The $90,000 figure is for what the RCMP allege are fraudulent housing claims Duffy filed over three years in the Senate. Wright, then the chief of staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, arranged to pay them (it was a wire transfer to Duffy’s lawyer, who held the money in trust, and not a cheque to Duffy as many say), with the payment itself subject to another charge: bribery of a judicial official.