THE detective who led the initial hunt for Madeleine McCann has shamelessly vowed to “clean out” her parents by suing them for damaging his reputation.
Goncalo Amaral, 57, wrote a book claiming Maddie died at the McCanns’ holiday home in Praia da Luz and Kate and Gerry covered it up.
The grief-stricken parents won a libel case against the now-retired cop over his allegations in 2015 — but the decision was overturned on appeal and later upheld by another Portuguese court.
It means the McCanns are now unable to take the case any further and Amaral is able to counter-sue the couple for damages.
The dad of three has already put in a claim for 10,000 euros , around £8,500, to cover legal costs.
His publisher and a firm behind a DVD on the case also want 5,000 euros each.
But the ex-cop, who was out enjoying a beer in the sun on Friday, could claim tens of thousands more.
A source said: “Amaral holds the key to making life financially very tough for the McCanns.
“He has told friends he intends to do just that. He wants to squeeze every penny he possibly can out of them, clean them out. He has no shame at all.
“He doesn’t believe they need the money to fund the search for Maddie as he is certain they know what happened to her.
“He is looking to deplete the Maddie fund at a time when they need all the money they can get.
“On top of all that, Kate and Gerry will be asked to pay a large legal costs bill for their case that ended in defeat for them.”
The financial blow for Kate and Gerry comes as they approach the tenth anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance next month.
And in a further twist, The Sun on Sunday can reveal Amaral is still working on his second book on the case despite claims to the contrary.
The source said: “Amaral says the second book will be even more explosive.
“Since writing the first his mind has been working overtime coming up with all sorts of wild theories.”
Approached in Lisbon, Amaral said: “I don’t have to explain anything to anyone.”
But he added that he may do interviews on May 3, the anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3340418/madeleine-mccann-detective-vows-to-clean-out-parents/
Comment: THE SUN ON SUNDAY SAYS Grubby profits made by the odious Goncalo Amaral over Madeleine McCann’s disappearance turns the stomach.
The grubby individual who ran the investigation has now sworn to bankrupt the grieving McCanns.
MADELEINE McCann’s parents had suffered more than enough even before the odious cop Goncalo Amaral set out to make their lives yet more hellish.
They will never stop grieving for the little girl abducted from their holiday flat in 2007.
But the Portuguese ex-police chief who ran the investigation has now sworn to bankrupt them too.
His men’s rookie errors may be one reason no trace of Madeleine was ever found.
How might her life, and Kate and Gerry’s, have been different had fate put a decent cop in charge?
One not consumed by a baseless suspicion that they somehow covered up Madeleine’s death without leaving a trace?
It is incredible that Portugal’s legal system overturned their libel win against Amaral for his slurs on them.
It has given him licence to cash in — through his first book, the second even more fanciful one he is writing and the damages with which he intends to “clean out” the McCanns.
On May 3, ten years exactly will have passed since Madeleine vanished.
It is heartbreaking that after all that time this is where the multi-million pound investigation has led:
A dead-end, the child still lost, her parents still traumatised, her siblings growing up without her.
And one grubby individual shamelessly and vindictively profiting from it all.
It turns the stomach.
Goncalo Amaral, 57, wrote a book claiming Maddie died at the McCanns’ holiday home in Praia da Luz and Kate and Gerry covered it up.
The grief-stricken parents won a libel case against the now-retired cop over his allegations in 2015 — but the decision was overturned on appeal and later upheld by another Portuguese court.
It means the McCanns are now unable to take the case any further and Amaral is able to counter-sue the couple for damages.
The dad of three has already put in a claim for 10,000 euros , around £8,500, to cover legal costs.
His publisher and a firm behind a DVD on the case also want 5,000 euros each.
But the ex-cop, who was out enjoying a beer in the sun on Friday, could claim tens of thousands more.
A source said: “Amaral holds the key to making life financially very tough for the McCanns.
“He has told friends he intends to do just that. He wants to squeeze every penny he possibly can out of them, clean them out. He has no shame at all.
“He doesn’t believe they need the money to fund the search for Maddie as he is certain they know what happened to her.
“He is looking to deplete the Maddie fund at a time when they need all the money they can get.
“On top of all that, Kate and Gerry will be asked to pay a large legal costs bill for their case that ended in defeat for them.”
The financial blow for Kate and Gerry comes as they approach the tenth anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance next month.
And in a further twist, The Sun on Sunday can reveal Amaral is still working on his second book on the case despite claims to the contrary.
The source said: “Amaral says the second book will be even more explosive.
“Since writing the first his mind has been working overtime coming up with all sorts of wild theories.”
Approached in Lisbon, Amaral said: “I don’t have to explain anything to anyone.”
But he added that he may do interviews on May 3, the anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3340418/madeleine-mccann-detective-vows-to-clean-out-parents/
Comment: THE SUN ON SUNDAY SAYS Grubby profits made by the odious Goncalo Amaral over Madeleine McCann’s disappearance turns the stomach.
The grubby individual who ran the investigation has now sworn to bankrupt the grieving McCanns.
MADELEINE McCann’s parents had suffered more than enough even before the odious cop Goncalo Amaral set out to make their lives yet more hellish.
They will never stop grieving for the little girl abducted from their holiday flat in 2007.
But the Portuguese ex-police chief who ran the investigation has now sworn to bankrupt them too.
His men’s rookie errors may be one reason no trace of Madeleine was ever found.
How might her life, and Kate and Gerry’s, have been different had fate put a decent cop in charge?
One not consumed by a baseless suspicion that they somehow covered up Madeleine’s death without leaving a trace?
It is incredible that Portugal’s legal system overturned their libel win against Amaral for his slurs on them.
It has given him licence to cash in — through his first book, the second even more fanciful one he is writing and the damages with which he intends to “clean out” the McCanns.
On May 3, ten years exactly will have passed since Madeleine vanished.
It is heartbreaking that after all that time this is where the multi-million pound investigation has led:
A dead-end, the child still lost, her parents still traumatised, her siblings growing up without her.
And one grubby individual shamelessly and vindictively profiting from it all.
It turns the stomach.
