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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. |
