Canoe fraudster faces court again
Back-from-the-dead canoe fraudster John Darwin will again appear in court after a new police investigation was launched into his conduct.
The 63-year-old, from Hartlepool, faked his own death in a canoeing accident in 2002 so his then-wife Ann could claim hundreds of thousands of pounds.
But he now faces a new police probe under the Proceeds of Crime Act and is set to appear at Teesside Crown Court next week.
According to The Sun newspaper the authorities are looking into claims he had undeclared investments.
In December he was jailed again after travelling to the Ukraine to find a new wife, but the 1,500-mile journey was undertaken without the permission of the Probation Service.
He needed its authority to travel because he was still on licence after being sentenced to six years and three months for the canoe fraud.
After faking his own death in 2002, Darwin continued to live in secret with his wife before they escaped to Panama to start a new life.
But in December 2007 Darwin walked into a London police station, claiming he had amnesia, and was reunited with his stunned sons.
His wife, then still in Panama, initially also claimed to be surprised - until a photograph emerged of them posing together.
A Cleveland Police spokesman said: " We can confirm that the Regional Asset Recovery Team is conducting an investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act."
