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Alleged Madeleine McCann con man Kevin Halligen denies spending donations on lavish lifestyle

HOMEPAGE NEWS REPORTS INDEX KEVIN HALLIGEN BLOG DAY 481

NEWS JUNE 2014

Original Source: mirror: Tuesday 03 June 2014

Jun 03, 2014 07:00
By Jessica Best

 

<<<-- Avi Download: The McCanns and the Conman Channel 5 - 04 June 2014
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Kate and Gerry McCann used Halligen's company to look for their missing daughter, but terminated his contract after he was convicted of fraud

 

Kevin Halligen

A conman who set up a firm to search for Madeleine McCann has denied he funded a lavish lifestyle using cash donated by the public.

 

Supporters of Kate and Gerry McCann handed over around £300,000 to Kevin Halligen's Washington-based company, but his contract was terminated early and he was later convicted of fraud in America on a separate matter.

 

The McCanns had used the Irish national's firm Oakley International for around six months to look for their missing daughter.

 

The £500,000 contract saw the firm hire private detectives, set up a hotline and process information.

 

But the McCanns terminated the arrangement without paying the full fees because Halligen, from Surrey, apparently failed to fulfil certain agreements.

 

In an interview for Channel 5 documentary The McCanns And The Conman, Halligen denied claims that he misused money raised to find Madeleine.

 

It has been claimed that he spent the money on first class travel, luxury hotel suites and a chauffeur.

 

But he said: "It is gross distortion of what was actually happening.

 

"The print media in particular took this line that really nothing was being done, I was living the high life on the proceeds of the McCann case.

 

"Trust me, I didn't buy so much as a new suit."

 

He added: "The money, all of it, is fully accountable."

 

Major Tim Craig-Harvey, a former Army officer who worked on the investigation with Halligen, said: "The gist of the story was that Halligen was a conman, that he had stolen funds, that nothing had been delivered and that the contract had been cancelled."

 

He added: "He went into, I think it was PNC bank in (Washington) DC and drew out a hundred thousand dollars at a time (and) stuffed it in his pocket.

 

"That was the last anyone saw of him."

 

But Halligen denied that he left the country without telling anybody.

 

"(I) didn't vanish. Everybody knew I was going to Rome," he insisted.

 

"It has also been reported that I was going to Rome for a holiday with this hot young lady. Untrue. This myth that I vanished off to Rome and spent everybody's money is exactly that, a myth."

 

Halligen pleaded guilty at an American court last year to defrauding Dutch company Trafigura of £1.3 million after claiming he needed funds to secure the release of two business executives who were arrested in the Ivory Coast.

 

He is said to have spent the cash on a lavish lifestyle, including a mansion in Virginia.

 

Mr Halligen was arrested at Old Bank hotel in Oxford in 2009 where he was staying for several months under an assumed name and had run up a £5,000 bill.

 

The McCanns And The Conman airs tomorrow night at 9pm on Channel 5.

BLOG DAY 481

Oakley International

Date Released: 26/08/2008

In the light of articles in some UK Sunday newspapers this weekend, we feel it is appropriate to comment briefly on our relationship with the investigation company Oakley International.

We appointed them several months ago to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. We continue to work with them to this end. The working relationship is managed by Brian Kennedy, who also confirms the relationship with Oakley International continues to be good and that it remains entirely focused on the search for Madeleine.

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