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Chapeau to Panama! - 11 December 2007

Posted by Paul Collins 1 comment


I left the kayak out there...

There is no such thing as bad publicity. So say the marketing gurus who have that innate knack of turning any kind of crisis into some form of promotion or photo opportunity, and who would probably be the first to present disaster as a chance to modernize and develop.

This is not necessarily a bad idea, but it would be hard to suggest that the recent story of John and Anne Darwin emigrating to Panama under one false identity (him) and one false pretence (both of them) does wonders for the idea of living in anonymity in Panama City.

While the wisdom of their methods of concealing the continued presence of John Darwin on this mortal coil can be debated at length, and will be the subject of what will prove to be one of the most reported criminal investigations next year, the choice of Panama as a destination is interesting. What made them head to this Central American state to start their new life?

Safety from discovery may have been paramount in their minds, surely Panama would not (until now) be the first place you would look to find a disappeared former prison officer, but there is an extradition treaty in place between Panama and the UK. We have learned in the past few days that the couple also visited Cyprus with a view to buying land and building their own villa, so it seems they have been touring some of the overseas property hotspots for a place to settle.

It may be that they had investment in mind to some extent. John Darwin’s life insurance payout has been reported to have been in the region of £25,000 as there was no body to prove his demise, and while his civil servant’s contract reportedly provided for the couple’s mortgage to be paid off, there was no million-pound cash payment to allow the Darwins to live out their days in luxury. They may have seen Panama as offering that combination of a ‘no questions asked’ environment and a good investment opportunity to allow them to survive and pay for their retirement.

In any case, there is no doubt a PR opportunity for Panama to make the most of a story that has been reported in newspapers across the world. Maybe something along the lines of: ‘Panama: not just great for investment, so transparent that not even the dead can hide…’


Comments

1. rightmoveoverseas.co.uk - December 18, 2007

Incidentally, we've found that the number of enquiries for property in Panama has risen astronomically since the Darwin story broke - from 275 during the week 27 Nov-3 Dec to a massive 3,465 for the week 4-10 Dec! That's three times the number of enquiries we received for the whole month of November!

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