Sunday, November 22, 2009

Madeleine McCann: McCann investigator indicted on charges of wire fraud and money laundering

On Nov 12, 2009, Kevin R. Halligen, 48, of Surrey, United Kingdom, was indicted on charges of wire fraud and money laundering by a grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia.

Halligen, who reportedly claims a wealth of contacts in the British security services and FBI, was one of the many questionable private detectives hired by Kate and Gerry McCann to allegedly investigate the alleged abduction of the daughter they left alone each night while they wined and dined in bars around Praia da Luz, Portugal.

From the very moment Madeleine was belatedly reported missing by the McCanns, they had access to some of the finest legal, business, media and diplomatic brains in the country. One of Britain's richest businessmen Brian Kennedy, readily offered the services of his company's in-house lawyer.The McCanns' boast teams of lawyers and PR companies in Portugal and teams of high profile lawyers and media advisors in the UK. They have more teams than the English Premier Division.

When I hire a service provider, it is a matter of course that I check them out thoroughly before committing myself. I make sure they have a proven and demonstrated track record in their particular field.

Yet despite having access to some of the finest business and legal minds in the UK, Team McCann have hired a series of private investigators with no proven or demonstrated track record in the area of missing persons or missing children, and were taken for a ride by both Metodo 3 and Halligen - both parties having dubious histories prior to working for the McCanns, and their methods called in to question while "investigating" Madeleine's disappearance.

A detailed analysis of the McCann's private detectives can be seen in an excellent article published in the Daily Mail.

I can supply the names of several international, highly regarded, highly professional and discreet agencies specializing in missing persons, yet the McCanns consistently overlook such agencies, preferring instead to hire a rag-tag-army of second rate chancers doomed to failure, "kicking down doors" and searching for Victoria Beckham look alikes.

Why have the McCanns not utilized their vast resources to enlist the assistance of skilled professionals boasting long and proud histories in the field of private investigation?

Below is the announcement of the allegations made against Halligen. The information is sourced from the FBI's Washington Field Office

Department of Justice Press Release

For Immediate Release
November 12, 2009 United States Attorney's Office
District of Columbia
Contact:

United Kingdom Man Indicted for Fraud

Washington, D.C.—Kevin R. Halligen, 48, of Surrey, United Kingdom, was indicted today on charges of wire fraud and money laundering by a grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The indictment alleges that from November 2006 to January 2007, Halligen engaged in a scheme to defraud a London-based law firm of $2,100,000. The indictment alleges that Halligen falsely represented to the law firm that these funds would be used to pay expenses incurred in the United States to help secure the release of two executives of a client of the law firm who were arrested in the country of Ivory Coast.

Contrary to these representations, Halligen, the indictment alleges, used the funds for his own benefit including purchasing a mansion located in Great Falls, Virginia.

In announcing the indictment, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips and FBI Assistant Director in Charge Persichini praised the work of the FBI Special Agent who investigated this case. They also commended Paralegal Specialist Mary Treanor, Legal Assistants Jamasee Lucas, Sabrina Brown, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Vasu Muthyala, who is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

Related i On Global Trends articles mentioning Trafigura

Thursday, September 17, 2009
Pollution: Toxic wastes caused deaths, illnesses in Côte d’Ivoire

Friday, October 24, 2008
Environment: Ivory Coast toxic waste scandal - justice has not been rendered

Friday, October 03, 2008
Cote D'ivoire: Toxic waste criminal investigations may indict higher-ups


According to The Guardian and numerous other sources, Carter-Ruck, the litigation lawers who act on behalf of Kate and Gerry McCann, obtained a "super injuction" to try to stifle disclosure of a confidential report on Trafigura and toxic waste, It also banned disclosure of the injunction's very existence, until it was revealed by an MP under parliamentary privilege. See also other sources

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