Wait for the complaints/SKY NEWS

Madeleine Hunt Cost Fund £815k


10:36am UK, Thursday January 29, 2009
The search for Madeleine McCann cost more than £815,000 - including Spanish private detective fees - out of £2m raised by well-wishers, it has emerged.





Madeleine vanished during a family holiday in Portugal

New official figures show the vast sums of money raised by the public and spent on trying to find the young girl during the 10 months after she went missing.
More than £815,000 went towards the search between her disappearance in May 2007 and March last year.
This included £250,000 for search fees, including Spanish private detectives Metodo 3, £111,522 for legal costs and £123,573 for campaign management, accounts filed to Companies House show.
Madeleine's Fund was launched a fortnight after the child vanished from Praia da Luz, southern Portugal, on May 3, 2007.
Money flooded in from supporters around the world who wanted to do something to help her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann.
Donations in the period to March 31 last year totalled £1,846,178, including £64,078 from sales of T-shirts and wrist bands.
Mr McCann's brother John, who is one of the fund's directors, said contributions had since dropped off.
He wrote in a foreword to the accounts: "As expected, the level of donations has fallen over time, although we have a number of loyal donors continuing their support.
"Income in the new financial year is currently significantly lower than at the same time last year. However, our expenses are ongoing and likely to increase."
For legal reasons, Madeleine's Fund was set up as a not-for-profit limited company rather than a charity.
Its objectives are to secure Madeleine's safe return, to ensure that anyone involved in her disappearance is brought to justice, and to provide support to her family.
There was controversy when it was disclosed in October 2007 that the McCanns had used money from the fund to pay two mortgage payments on their home in Rothley, Leicestershire.
More to follow...

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Madeleine-McCann-Total-Donations-And-Cost-Of-Metodo-3-Private-Detective-Search-Revealed/Article/200901415212838

It's already happening .. checked out Sky and Miller was doing her usual onslaught of 1 blog after another when the 1st thread disappeared. Maybe it's just a technical thing .. who knows. Anyway they continue on the other thread for now. Unfortunately those who don't understand accounting will jump all over this. And of course if the police had done their job, if the McCann's had reason to be confident that all things possible were being done to find Madeleine, that the police were Actually Looking for Madeleine; then the fund would probably not have happened in the first place.

Expect a lot of nickle & dimeing over the amounts .. it will feed 3A for a long time too.

PS: and I bet 3A are busy right now spamming all the tabloids about the fund monies ...

The fund is set up like a business and those who set it up knew full well that the accounts would be available through companies house. The accounts are transparent with nothing to hide.

What we have ia an overview of the account. I expect everything would be considered justifyable and above board.

No doubt, to the hate mob, anything done would not be justifyable as they consider Madeleine is dead and therefore the fund is a scam. I'm glad I'm not like those people. Life must be an utter drag.

The website costs seem a bit high? Not suggesting anything, but how can a website cost so much?

While the website costs may seem high at first glance there are two items to consider, I believe: 1) The website is maintained and updated by an individual employed by the McCanns and 2) In 2008, the website was redesigned and I would think that would be expensive to do. This is in my opinion only and I don't have any inside information.

How Stevo can make statements that he has proof that the cost of the website is fraudulent etc... is ridiculous.
As we are'nt privy to how the amounts are broken down its impossible to say whether this is high or not.
I think a lot more will be heard about the release of the funds accounts and idiots like Stevo will be left with egg on their faces!

Mulleena wrote:How Stevo can make statements that he has proof that the cost of the website is fraudulent etc... is ridiculous.
As we are'nt privy to how the amounts are broken down its impossible to say whether this is high or not.
I think a lot more will be heard about the release of the funds accounts and idiots like Stevo will be left with egg on their faces!

Spot on Mulleena, all we are privvy to is an overview of the account not the statements. On the surface the cost of the website does seem expensive. But if we could see the breakdown it would probably make sense.

Stevo probably realises now that he could have made more money out of Bennett, lol. So it's just sour grapes for him.

It just suits Stevos agenda at the moment to make the McCanns out for all they can get.
Thanks to his McCann fraud fund website I have no doubt their accounts will be watertight with the i dotted and ts crossed!!
And every receipt and bankstatement verified.

It is a website, not a blog, and it was most likely designed by professionals. It is probably maintained by a professional. This doesnt come free. I dont do websites, but if you hire me from my company, I cost around $AUD1500 per day (for an 8 hour day) plus expenses (sadly I dont get anywhere near that much). Good IT professionals do cost a bit, especially if you hire through a company. And that is the best way to do it because you will get what you pay for. Hiring a contractor directly will cost less but you have no recourse for poor work, or if they shoot through etc etc. So my bet is that the website is done through a professional company.

After all, what good would a second rate blog have done? And can you imagine it. the anti's saying, too cheap to do a decent website, trying to scam money.

One thing. It is Libel per se (as I have explained many many times) to accuse someone of fraud. And there is no defence for that. And the important thing to realise is that Libel per se has the damages assumed, that is damages do not have to be proven. Therefore anyone with any money is worth sueing. Of course, it is not worth sueing someone with no money (such as Bennett) because all that would happen is to draw from the fund for legal costs. (And speaking of legal costs, that amount from the fund will without doubt include the legal costs for the libel actions against the papers). I think the likes of Stevo (??) and Bennett wont be sued purely because it is not worth it. But I could be wrong, and one of them may have some money.

I have long stated that the accounts from the fund would be fully audited and made public, purely because of the companies law in Britain. And I dont even live in Britain. But it suited the agenda of the antis to deny that would be the case.

I personally doubt that there is any irregularities at all with the accounts, not even minor ones, which in my experience, there usually is. I have worked for some crooked people in my time, running public companies and they even received govt awards etc. Some were tax cheats (buying things, renovations etc), one devalued the stock of his company and then convinced the board to sell it to a company that he owned (and he isnt in gaol and there is no investigation). And then there are just the idiot accountants who make mistakes because they are just useless. I have worked with quite a number of these over the years. So what I am trying to say, is that the accounts of the funds will be squeaky clean compared to many other companies. And the reason, is that the McCanns know the public scrutiny that is coming but also and most importantly, the fund was set up to find Madeleine, not set up for them to rip it off, and finding Madeleine is what the money is directed at.

Mulleena wrote:How Stevo can make statements that he has proof that the cost of the website is fraudulent etc... is ridiculous.
As we are'nt privy to how the amounts are broken down its impossible to say whether this is high or not.
I think a lot more will be heard about the release of the funds accounts and idiots like Stevo will be left with egg on their faces!

Absolutely 100% correct. But "Stevo" is not as clever as he tries to get others to think he is!

I think the website was designed and is maintained by professionals and this is never cheap, nothing about IT is cheap.

If "Stevo" thinks he can prove this let him, at the same time could he prove the forum he is involved with is having its accounts audited correctly by the US? Also perhaps "Stevo" could take this chance to explain about the money being earned by a certain forum for advertising porn links? In short perhaps "Stevo" could get hos own house in order before criticising that of others?