usa detectives axed

Madeleine fund in chaos as private eyes are axed after draining £500,000

By Daniel Boffey and Miles Goslett
Last updated at 10:14 PM on 23rd August 2008

The fund for finding Madeleine now has only £500,000 left in its coffers

A team of private investigators working behind the scenes to find Madeleine McCann has been axed after being paid £500,000 from publicly donated funds.

The Find Madeleine Fund quietly engaged the services of a US-based company which was awarded the lucrative six-month contract earlier this year.

The company, Oakley International, which boasts former British security service and FBI contacts, was hired to monitor the Madeleine Hotline, carry out detective work and review CCTV footage of possible sightings of the missing girl around the world.

A source revealed that the company had also spent resources in an attempt to infiltrate a paedophile ring in Belgium.

However, the company’s contract will now not be renewed. The Mail on Sunday has learned that double-glazing tycoon Brian Kennedy, who has been underwriting the fund’s search for Madeleine, has conducted a review of the agency’s work and has become unhappy with the progress it was making.

The deal was abruptly ended following a meeting last week after the fund brought in independent monitors to assess how the money was spent.

The cost of employing the agency - run by a Briton, Kevin Halligen - has drained the Madeleine fund and there is now less than £500,000 left.

The development is likely to dismay the thousands who gave to the appeal, and raise questions about how the fund has been administered.

Mr Kennedy, who owns Sale Sharks rugby club, was said to be ‘angry’ because he believed Oakley’s bills, estimated to be more than £80,000 a month, were too much for the results they achieved.

A source said: ‘There is a sense that they were meaning well but hadn’t got as far as they should for the money involved.

'Brian Kennedy thought their work was far too pricey and wanted to know where the money was being spent. He wasn’t satisfied with their answers and the contract was not renewed.

‘Madeleine’s parents, Gerry and Kate, have been kept informed all along and agree with the decision. A lot of people were asking questions about where the money was being spent.’
Kate and Gerry McCann

Kate and Gerry McCann agree with the decision to drop Oakley International

Oakley International won the contract after an introduction by another company, Red Defence International (RDI), based in Jermyn Street, Central London.

Listed as being involved with both companies was Mr Halligen, 47, a communications expert. He is given as the ‘contact name’ for Oakley International Group, a company registered in Washington DC as the manufacturer of search and navigation equipment.

The company says it has annual sales of £33,000 and only one employee, who appears to be Mr Halligen.

The address given for the company is 2550 M Street NW Washington, which is the downtown office of Patton Boggs, one of the largest and most powerful law companies in America.

A source at the law firm said last night that the lawyer who represented Mr Halligen was unavailable for comment.

RDI, formed in 2005, bills itself as ‘an experienced provider of crisis prevention, management and expertise’. It claims to have a presence in Washington DC and Virginia and representation in the Middle East, Africa and Central America.
Brian Kennedy

Brian Kennedy, who has underwritten the search for Madeleine, is dissatisfied with the agency's work

However, its latest set of accounts is two months overdue and it faces being fined by HM Revenue & Customs.

Among the main players working on the McCann contract were Mr Halligen and Henri Exton, 57, who headed the Greater Manchester Police undercover unit until 1993. He then worked for the Government before moving into the private sector.

One day after a crisis meeting last week with the Madeleine fund administrators, Mr Halligen resigned as a director of RDI.

Mr Exton, of Bury, Lancashire, has the Queen’s Police Medal and an OBE. During the Seventies and Eighties his work included uncovering organised crime rings and recruiting supergrasses.

He also infiltrated football gangs, at one stage becoming a leader of the Young Guvnors, who followed Manchester City, and was forced to take part in organised incidents to preserve his cover.

Previously, the McCann fund had employed a Spanish detective agency called Metodo 3. However, the fund lost confidence in them, especially after they announced they would find Madeleine by last Christmas.

She had disappeared from the resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007, nine days short of her fourth birthday.

A spokesman for the McCanns said yesterday: ‘Kate and Gerry, the fund and their backers have always sought to employ the very best people and resources in the ongoing search for Madeleine.

‘Kate and Gerry, via the fund and the backers, continue to employ many such resources and it is true that Red Defence and Oakley were part of those resources.

‘I simply will not comment on any personnel, financial or operational details whatsoever.’

No one could be reached for comment at Oakley International or Red Defence International.

Mr Kennedy, estimated to be worth about £250million, became involved after being moved by the plight of the McCanns during the period they were made formal suspects – arguidos – in Madeleine’s disappearance. Portuguese prosecutors dropped the couple’s arguido status last month.

The 47-year-old made his money in double-glazing and home improvement ventures with companies including Everest windows. His Latium Group business empire has an annual turnover of about £400million.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1048600/Madeleine-fund-chaos-private-eyes-axed-draining-500-000.html

++++++++++++++++++++++++

I take it they are on about the fbi and cid/???.......thats the only usa detective agency I knew worked for them.
I thought this was a recent thing though...i wasn't under the impression that their 6 month contract had ended. They aint renewing it so...i take it they have already worked for 6 months searching for madeleine???

I wonder if k&g agree 100% to them being axed???Only IMO Kennedy seems to be calling to many bl##dy shots here. Hope they aint afraid to disagree with him becasue he is supplying a lot of money to the fund. Im not always sure about Kennedy's decisions. To be honest im not even sure this man is doing them any favors in the sense that he seems to hit a good thing down.

Do they think they will find a more experienced team???Hope so. For Madeleine's sake.
Sorry but this yachts man Kennedy as never been someone I have taken to .I have my opinions on him that I will keep to myself...but I don't like the way the big money guy is calling the shots here at all.
I would like to see him replaced maybe with someone else who as offered their financial support..

Just my opinion on him... leave it at that I think .

Well this is odd, as they only hired them last week apparently! I would take what the Mail says with a pinch of salt.

The fund only had £550.000 left in it anyway, so what os the Mail on about?

I thought there was something a little odd about the reports that the McCanns had just hired a new detective agency. I believe the Mail might be right and they were hired a lot earlier in the year, and not recently. My reason for thinking that is that M3, werent performing, and also were no longer talking. So I guessed that they had been scaled back. And to do that another agency must have been brought in.

I also believe that what the article said about Kennedy. According to previous reports, Kennedy holds the contracts with the PI's, so I am not surprised he has reviewed them. I would also believe that as a multi millionaire with a keen business sense that he would ask for an explanation of expenses, and if not happy, he would get rid of them.

What is worrying is that the RDI company, is failing to meet its statutory reporting requirements, which doesnt say a lot for its owner, and the fact he has an OBE and is a distinguished ex copper, sort of makes one wonder about whether it is going bankrupt. And the US company, seem to be a bit greedy. Kennedy is right to question it all.

After all, the money is to be spent on finding Madeleine, not lining the pockets of a pair of detectives, no matter how good their reputations are. It is results which matter.

I tend to believe what is the Mail has written. It has the ring of truth to it.

Seems to ba a contradiction: if it is Kennedy who's backing the PIs or search, why is the fund paying for it? Am I missing something here?

Don't like the sound of this one little bit and the fact that they have produced nothing? Very sad indeed.. :(

Thanks for that report Clairesy :sendingulove:

The reason why I am saying this is I think the Mail is getting mixed up with another company the McCann's hired way back now and I am sure that detective's name was the same as the one now mentioned, although I do seem to remember that this company did have a US branch. (This is from memory)

Of course I do not know for certain but I do not think this latest company that the McCann's have hired is connected with this one, I hope not anyway.

It would seem a bit odd that Kennedy is pouncing straight away on performance if the company has only been in employ for a couple of weeks.
It was only just a short while ago that these detectives were reported to be in Belgium investigating this last sighting.
Also this is what also makes a complete nonsense about Duarte Levy and Paulo Reis report, these detectives were in Belgium and it is well known that they speak French and other languages so that would not have been the problem that Levy has been suggesting it is.

Also the fund is till at £500.000 according to the Mail, well it was that last July, when it was noted that it was the damages libel money that was left in the fund. This has nothing to do with Kennedy.

What has something to do with Kennedy is that he was paying for M3 and we all know that this company has been cut right back and they were dealing with the African part etc. So I am going to guess and say that the Mail has got it arse about face and got it completely wrong. The whole article is contradicting itself, not very well researched I don't think.

One good thing though would point to if the fund is till at £550.000 there abouts, that hopefully plenty of donations went in over the past few weeks, this will help them.

I just wonder if this story is a ore story and that we will hear next that Kate and Gerry will be doing the Oprah show to top up the fund? I hope so, I really want to hear their side of the story. So I guess would many people.

I think it would be good to release their side of the story when Amaral gets whacked in court soon!

I think there are 2 different stories running here. If the US PI's have been sacked then its another sad day in the search for Madeleine and if the alleged "best in the business" haven't been able to find any leads then I'm feeling very deflated and dont quite know where The McCanns can go from here.

But with reference to the fund being in crisis, I dont quite buy that, Clarence only went on record 2 weeks ago to say the fund is half spent (which ties in with what the Mail is saying) he also said quite categorically, that money is not an issue at the moment. So the fund being in crisis, I will take with a pinch of salt.

This is correct about the fund, this story in the Mail seems to be a jumble of different stories probably hastily cobbled together. When I hear it directly from Clarence I will believe it.

Tinks I distinctly remember Clarence quoting this about the fund too.

If the 80,000 pounds a month (sorry but dont have a pound sign without using function keys and dont know how to do it) is true, then the fund would be dry in an other 6 months, or even earlier, depending whether anything happens and more people are needed. And if there is not significant work going on (and i dont mean just results) for that money, then they shouldnt be employed. Kennedy is no fool, and he will not be paying some high priced salary for nothing. You know, 80,000 pounds is a hell of a lot of money, and I wonder how many full time people that is. And if the staff are staying in five star hotels, that sort of thing. And I do think that the contract has been around for a lot longer than a few weeks, it has just been made public. Have the financial statements of the fund just been released or something like that? Is that why it has just become public knowledge?

What I found very confusing about the article is whether or not the British part has been sacked or just the US part, which are two different companies. But the irregularities in the returns (or lack of them) implies to me that the company is on verge of bankruptcy and is probably over charging to pay off debts. If that is true then Kennedy would have picked that up very quickly, he probably has his own finance team go over all finances as well as the investigative process. And he is a good man for doing this. Also, I do not believe that Kennedy is financing the search, but he does hold the contracts, and this is probably because the Fund is not legally able to do it, and the contract must be backed by financial resources(as a guarantee), which Kennedy has. This is common practice. In many small firms, any contracts must be personally guaranteed by the directors, because institutions such as banks will not lend otherwise.

But I agree, we will have to wait and see what actually has happened, because this reporting is very confused.

This situation about the PI's is short on explanations that make any sense yet. Also still out there is the CCTV film in Brussels of the woman walking with a child just like Madeleine .. and the uncanny resemblance to the woman, shown with the group photographed in Morocco. I have stared and stared at the two women, and the facial bone structure is identical .. this hasn't been cleared up properly for me at least. Some of the sightings ring so true and you wonder, if this is not Madeleine, then just who are these children in such peculiar circumstances i.e. the Dutch sighting "I was taken from my holiday" "she is not my Mummy".. another one not cleared up.

I too am waiting for an official announcement from CM about the PI's and I am hoping that there are people still working hard on the search .. for God's sake, I dread that everyone has dropped the ball. What must K&G be feeling right now ..

I agree with you Marilyn and if you see the links Minnea has produced today, it will further muddy the water about this first Moroccan sighting. I agree that the facial shape of this woman does look similar.

I think that everything on this front went too quiet, too quickly. I can't see that 30.000 files only produced this amount of information, if this is so, then this would make me question the PJ even more, just what were they doing for 15 months? As I said to you on the other thread, keep the faith, they need our support now more than ever. I do have this silly feeling that something is going to break big time soon and positive news is just a while away. I just have this feeling that she is going to be found and I can't shake it and I have tried rationalising in my mind but still it will not go away, it just gets stronger.

I can see what you are saying Diane, but I am for the moment disinclined to believe this report, for one reason, it was just 2 weeks ago that Clarence Mitchell himself said that there was no immediate problem with funding from the fund. I think this report is just shoddy journalism, something cobbled together to fill columns. Further, how would this reporter actually know what Brian Kennedy has said or not said? It is doubtful that Kennedy would have spoken to the journalist, so where did the story come from?

It is my understanding that Brian Kennedy was funding Metodo 3 and it is in fact Metodo 3 that has been scaled right back because it was quoted that Kate and Gerry were not happy with the progress etc, I don't think Kennedy had anything to do with this other company.
The other company was hired last year, this latest company hired was apparently only just hired some two weeks ago, if this is so, then it is far too early for anyone to be expecting results and for what they have spent so far to be scrutinised, now I may be wrong, but this is the impression I get. Of course Kennedy is a business man and he is going to want a detailed report on progress and a breakdown of where his money is going, but I do not think it was this latest company, I think it may have been M3 and this reporter has got the completely wrong end of the stick.

I'll wait until Clarence makes the announcement. It seems too far a jump to me that one minute it is all systems go and the campaign has received x amount of leads from the files to follow up and the publicity has generated further contact from people with information, to this in just 2 weeks? I am very sceptical of it.

I think Rosie may be right - it was an article to fill up an empty space. Another point that bothers me about this story is that six months ago (when this company was hired) the McCanns were still 'arguidos' and the case was still subject to 'Portugal's secretive laws' . Now, when the information from the PJ's files is available, the USA firm is fired? Something does NOT add up.

You know it may even be that there are three companies involved, and the identity of the third hasnt got out. This third company may have been employed in Feb, which was when M3's contract came up, and they were scaled back.

The comments about the new PI's, may in fact be another new company hired because of the release of the files. And then new one is the one Clarence was referring to with ex FBI, etc etc.

And the reason I say this is because M3 was scaled back and I feel certain they had to be replaced with someone, the search itself wouldnt have scaled back, and there was the new push, with the new helpline etc. That would have been a new company not M3.

Just a thought, and makes a bit more sense than the original article.

I think you could be right! If I remember correctly there was another company that was said to be ex SAS it had some strange name , I think it was called "Control Risk group" or something. Never heard a thing about this company, but I put this down to the way they worked after all we never know much about the SAS in this country until they have actually carried something out, much as these forces operate in most countries I think. Could this be the group that has been axed?

from the Find Madeleine site.

Oakley International
Date Released: 26/08/2008

In the light of articles in some UK Sunday newspapers this weekend, we feel it is appropriate to comment briefly on our relationship with the investigation company Oakley International.

We appointed them several months ago to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. We continue to work with them to this end. The working relationship is managed by Brian Kennedy, who also confirms the relationship with Oakley International continues to be good and that it remains entirely focused on the search for Madeleine.

Trust the Mail on Sunday, knew that paper had got it wrong, that article did not make any sense at all.

Just like to point out that the press release only talks about the Oakley International company.

The article talks about two companies. So perhaps there is some truth in it,but as the papers werent getting it from the horse's mouth, they just got it wrong.

And notice that they did appoint Oakley months ago.

Something has gone on, but it is not what was reported by the press.

I think the paper got it all ar*e about face, it was M3 they got mixed up with, thought it may have been because Brian Kennedy was actually bankrolling M3, the fund was not paying for them.

Rosiepops wrote:I think the paper got it all ar*e about face, it was M3 they got mixed up with, thought it may have been because Brian Kennedy was actually bankrolling M3, the fund was not paying for them.

Madeleine detectives’ axing denied
30/8/2008

Kate and Gerry McCann, parents of missing toddler Madeleine McCann have denied they have decided to axe private investigators Oakley International following allegations the company has drained the McCann’s fund of nearly half a million pounds.

Reports on Sunday claimed they were supported in doing so by Madeleine Fund underwriter Brian Kennedy, a self-made millionaire, who was also said to be dissatisfied with the investigators’ work.

It was said he considered their approximate £100,000-per-month fee “excessive” for the results that were being obtained.

This has since been refuted.

A written entry on the official ‘Find Madeleine’ website said, “In the light of articles in some UK Sunday newspapers this weekend, we feel it is appropriate to comment briefly on our relationship with the investigation company Oakley International.

“We appointed them several months ago to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. We continue to work with them to this end. The working relationship is managed by Brian Kennedy, who also confirms the relationship with Oakley International continues to be good and that it remains entirely focused on the search for Madeleine”.

Oakley International, which is made up of ex-British special forces officers and has FBI contacts, won the contract over the London-based Red Defence International (RDI), though one of the employees, 47-year-old communications expert known as Mr. Halligen, is listed as being involved with both companies.

Weekend reports in the UK claim Halligen is given as the ‘contact name’ for Oakley International Group, a company registered in Washington DC as the manufacturer of search and navigation equipment, and is also, reportedly, a director of RDI.

The company says it has annual sales of around €45,000 and only one employee, which appears to be Mr Halligen.

Initial reports alleged that the day after a crisis meeting last week with the Madeleine Fund administrators, Mr Halligen resigned as a director of RDI.

Previously the McCann Fund had employed a Spanish detective agency called Metodo 3, who were also axed after claims they would ‘find Madeleine before Christmas’ failed.

A McCann spokesperson said yesterday, “Kate and Gerry, the fund and their backers have always sought to employ the very best people and resources in the ongoing search for Madeleine”.

A search that is, according to the McCanns, still continuing.

Thanks for that, at least we all now know, the journalist got it all wrong as we suspected. I saw on the Find Madeleine site during the week that K&G had denied this, so this fuller report of yours explains further.

This is again sloppy journalism, a journalist writing a report who did not bother to check the facts out, perhaps the newspapers would do better to use one of us when writing reports like this as we ALL knew instantly that something was wrong and did not add up with this.

One GREAT thng to know is that the search for Madeleine by people that know what they are doing continues - thank God, because I know that report upset a lot of people last week. :(