Top cop who taunted Kate and Gerry has made nearly £350k from Maddie McCann in book and DVD deals
Kate and Gerry McCann are currently challenging Goncalo Amaral at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to stop him from cashing in
AN ex-police chief who cruelly claimed Madeleine McCann’s parents covered up her death has made more than £350,000 from his book and a DVD.
Portuguese cop Goncalo Amaral’s huge earnings from The Truth Of The Lie have been revealed in court documents.
Kate and Gerry McCann are in a legal battle with Amaral at the European Court of Human Rights over the smears.
Amaral cruelly claims Madeleine, abducted aged three from an Algarve holiday apartment in 2007, died in an accident and the McCanns then covered it up.
Kate and Gerry, who have fought a lengthy legal battle to stop Amaral cashing in, are currently challenging him at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. A source close to them said: “If Goncalo Amaral continues to make these outrageous claims then he will find he has a tough fight on his hands.
“Kate and Gerry are not going to let him get away with what he said about them.”
Amaral’s earnings from the book are revealed in documents filed at the ECHR.
They show he made 342,111 euros from book sales in 2008-2009 and another 40,000 euros from the DVD spin-off.
The book was translated into multiple languages, with more than 180,000 copies printed. There are fears Amaral plans a follow-up.
An injunction against the book, stopping further sales, was issued in 2009 when the McCanns began a libel action against Amaral, who led the initial Portuguese police inquiry into Madeleine’s disappearance.
They won the case in 2015 but the ruling was overturned on appeal — a decision upheld by Portugal’s Supreme Court. Amaral was awarded compensation.
The injunction on the book was also lifted, leading to thousands more sales and even more cash for Amaral. He is said to have made at least £20,000 from interviews with newspapers and TV stations.
The McCanns have gone to the ECHR in a final effort to avoid paying Amaral £750,000 in compensation.
But it could take until 2021 before the judges decide.
The McCanns fear if they lose, Amaral’s payout will wipe away what is left in the fund set up to finance the continuing search for Madeleine.
Sources close to the family also fear Brexit may have an impact — with judges taking “vengeance” over Britain leaving the EU by ruling against them.
In their argument to the ECHR, the McCanns’ legal team describe the pain and emotional agony Kate and Gerry have gone though since Madeleine disappeared during a family holiday in Praia da Luz in May 2007.
They detail the anguish of the couple being absurdly made suspects by the Portuguese police followed by the pain of Amaral’s outlandish accusations.
The lawyers say Amaral’s book “incriminated innocent citizens, accused of terrible crimes they never committed”. It goes on to say they are trying to “protect not only their reputation but that of the child as well”.
They also say Amaral’s book was “extravagant” and “damaged the good reputation” of the McCann family.
Amaral previously argued in his defence that the book’s allegations come from the police investigation.
He was removed as the investigation head in October 2007 and subsequently left the police to write his book.
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A source said: “Kate and Gerry still have full confidence the European Court of Human Rights will find in their favour.
“It hasn’t altered their determination to carry on searching for their daughter. They have never given up hope and this case is an awful distraction but they feel compelled to do something.”
The Met Police has spent £11.6million on the hunt for Madeleine. Last month a request was made to the Home Office for a further six months funding.
The McCanns’ Portuguese lawyer Isabel Duarte said: “This will be our final appeal. The basis is the violation of my clients’ fundamental human rights.”