Canoe man John Darwin imprisoned for breaching early release conditions

The man known as the ‘canoe fraudster’ after he faked his own death along with his wife in a £500k insurance scam scheme, has been rearrested after he breached his licence conditions.

john

by Jessica Anais Rach |
Published on

John Darwin and his ex-wife Anne, 61, were jailed for 6 years in 2008 after being found guilty of fraud, but released early on good behaviour.

The couple had been declared dead in 2003, a year after apparently drowning on a canoe trip. His family claimed the £500,000 in insurance money, yet he was actually hiding at home before trying to start a new life in Panama.

John and Anne
John and Anne

Darwin was released on licence in 2011, on the condition that he must not leave the country.

However the former prison officer apparently did not want to spend Christmas alone, and had travelled to the Ukraine to meet up with a 25-year-old woman he had met on the internet.

After the young woman reportedly rejected him, Darwin is said to have continued searching for a Ukranian potential partner.

John on the Lorraine show in 2011- his aunt said yesterday he has always loved the spotlight

The 63-year-old was arrested at Newcastle airport on Monday, following the 25-day trip during which he was spotted dining with brief flame Anna Avramenko.

Because he is not considered a high-risk offender, it is understood he will automatically serve 28 days rather than a longer term.

The Prison Service said: ‘Offenders on licence are liable to recall to jail if they breach any of their licence conditions.’

Yesterday, Margaret Burns, 86, Darwin’s aunt, said: ‘John has never been out of the news because he has always wanted publicity. When he was younger, he was always fooling everyone and telling tales.'

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