'Canoe man' John Darwin has repaid only £121 in £679,000 insurance fraud
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Version 0 of 1. John Darwin, who faked his death in order to make a fraudulent insurance claim, has only given back £121 of the six-figure sum a judge had ordered him to repay. The 63-year-old, dubbed the ‘mysterious canoe man’ after he went “missing” and presented himself to police officers claiming to have amnesia in 2007, said he was unable to make the repayments because his income as a benefits claimant was too low. However, now Mr Darwin’s pension has matured the Crown has applied for him to repay more. Mr Darwin, of Seat Carew, had been reported missing following a canoe ride in the North Sea in March 2002. He made headlines in 2007 when he walked into a London police station and claimed he had amnesia to explain why he did not remember where he had been. In the meantime, his wife Anne had collected more than £500,000 in life insurance payments, while he hid in their home, leaving their two sons to believe he was dead. His wife, who had fled with him to Panama, pretended to be shocked by his return until a photograph emerged of them posing together after his supposed death. The 63-year-old was jailed with his wife Anne in 2008 for fraud, and a judge ruled he should pay £679,073. She was later jailed for six-and-a-half-years for fraud and money-laundering. Anne Darwin, now split from her husband, has repaid more than £500,000 under a separate Proceeds of Crime order. A hearing to decide on Mr Darwin’s payments will be held in May. Additional reporting by PA |