‘Canoe man’ Darwin and wife may keep £500,000 payout from his faked death

"Canoe man" John Darwin and his wife Anne may not be forced to pay back £500,000 they made from faking his death because they invested it in property in Panama.

Authorities in the central American country, which has a reputation as a haven for money launderers, have refused to reply to British police trying to seize the couple's assets, it was reported today.

Speaking a year after the couple were jailed, Det Insp Dave Turnbull, of Cleveland police, said: "The fraud netted them over half a million pounds in cash but the benefit from that money is far more significant.

"We will argue that over six years they benefited considerably from their crime and built up considerable assets in Panama. We wrote to the government there to restrain the Darwin assets. But we have yet to hear back."

Mr Darwin, 58, faked his death by pretending to have drowned in a canoe accident off the Cleveland coast in 2002. He went into hiding while his wife, 57, collected pension, insurance and mortgage payouts while their two sons believed their father was dead.