A man. A plan. A canoe. Panama |
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Written by Angela Balakrishnan
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The languid Caribbean coastline of Panama is a far cry from the North
Sea town of Seaton Carew, so it's little wonder that's where John and
Anne Darwin planned to spend their ill-gotten gains. guardian.co.uk,
Even if you take away the appeal of 300 days of sunshine a year,
turquoise, pristine Caribbean coastlines, tropical fruits and cashew
trees, Seaton Carew in north-east England is still worlds apart from
Panama in the heart of central America.
Nestled on the grey North Sea coast under the shadow of Hartlepool's
nuclear power station and the mouth of the river Tees, the little
seaside town lists one of its notable landmarks as being a seafront bus
station that has a grade II listed art deco clock tower, currently
undergoing renovation.
So it's little wonder that Anne Darwin
decided to swap homes, telling friends she "fell in love" with Panama –
a country which lends its name to a hat, a cocktail, a Van Halen song
and the film The Tailor of Panama.
While Seaton Carew enjoyed its heyday in the early 19th century,
thriving amid rows of pretty stucco houses and a handsome turfed square
facing the sea, Panama is defying much of the global economic turmoil
with modern skyscrapers shooting up across its capital to house new
businesses.
Then of course there is the lure of cheap property, good healthcare,
the tax-free status and the pensionado programme, which has made the
country one of the most sought-after retirement spots in the world.
Anyone of any age with a guaranteed pension income of more than £247
per month is entitled to a pensionado visa. It allows expatriates to
resettle and buy a new home without having to pay property taxes for 20
years.
On top of this, they are entitled to discounts on virtually everything,
including 25% off airline tickets and meals in restaurants.
With the tax-free money earned in England, expatriate life in Panama
would certainly have been far more luxurious than anything Anne Darwin could have dreamed of in her Victorian terrace in a windswept English town.
Should their deception have lasted a little longer, the Darwins could
have enjoyed the services of a full-time live-in maid for just £60 a
month, beer at only 20p a pint, coffee at 15p a cup, and water bills
totalling a minuscule £9 a year.
Other advantages for those looking to relocate include import duty
breaks for bringing in possessions, including an exemption that allows
retired people to import one car every two years duty-free.
A dedicated 'Retire to Panama' programme invites expats over the age of
45 to live in the country as long as they can demonstrate a monthly
income of just £200. So this thread of a country, which lies at the
juncture of North and South America, is now home to around 6,000
Britons.
It is estimated the Darwins' newly purchased flat in the 1960s
four-storey building in the slightly rundown Los Angeles area of Panama
City and a patch of land - which Anne Darwin described to her friends as "an absolute bargain" - cost a total of £50,000.
This modest price tag for the package they accumulated in Panama is
reflective of the cheap property prices. A prime two-bedroom flat with
pool and gym in the capital, Panama City, is priced at around £75,000.
Lifestyle websites abound with advice on moving to Panama and can offer
apartments for as little as £30,000.
Even in the current downward spiral of the UK housing market, Panama's
property remains a bargain by a long way. But more than anything, the
most appealing factor for the Darwins was likely to have been the
'below the radar' living offered by the country.
Panama prides itself on discretion. Accountants and lawyers set up
companies, trusts and accounts knowing their affairs will remain
confidential, and often UK authorities who want to trace or access
money sent to Panama run into great difficulty.
To maintain secrecy, the government allows numbered bank accounts with
no names attached and sets fines of £5,000 and up to six months in jail
for anyone who discloses banking information.
Not that the Darwins hadn't manage to keep up their deception in Seaton Carew. The court heard that when Anne Darwin phoned the police to report her husband missing, she had in fact just dropped him off at Durham station.
And within a month, her husband, who had grown his hair and a beard,
was secretly living in the bedsit of the adjoining property the couple
owned.
For three years, the Darwins enjoyed a life together, hiding whenever
family or neighbours came to visit Anne. An avid reader, John Darwin could not resist registering at the library under a false name: John Jones.
But with a population of approximately 6,500 to Panama's 3.3 million, staying hidden indefinitely was not going to be easy.
However, their Panama paradise did come with its downsides too. While
the country has a reputation as a place for criminals and spies, such
as John le Carré's disgraced MI6 agent Andy Osnard in The Tailor of
Panama, and even the fugitives from the TV show Prison Break, it does
have an extradition treaty with the UK.
Once caught by the police, it was inevitable that the dream of a life in the sun would come quickly crashing to an end.
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