Wanted by Interpol [and Cayman], but Londoner Daniel Vanderwerff says he’s ‘done nothing wrong’
By Scott Taylor From Metro London
Interpol has posted his photo as a fugitive on its website and listed criminal charges against him, but a former Londoner now living in Calgary swears he’s innocent and longs for the day when he’ll be able to prove it.
Daniel Vanderwerff is accused of stealing about $300,000 from Cayman Islands business K-Coast Development, where he worked as a project manager between April 2006 and February 2007.
He was initially arrested and charged, but was bailed out on terms that included a $5,000 cash bond and a lien against $50,000 of property he owned in the area.
A condition of his release was that he would remain in the Caymans.
A second set of charges was filed against him in November 2007. They alleged falsified payment instructions in the computer system of K-Coast and obtaining a wire transfer for $84,000 by deception.
Meanwhile, a court was told he’d fallen from a roof and needed to be airlifted off-island for complex medical treatment for serious injuries. He was granted permission to leave and his passport was returned to him.
That was the last K-Coast and the Cayman Islands ever saw Vanderwerff.
Authorities there want him to return to face justice, but Vanderwerff said he wouldn’t stand a chance in a Cayman courtroom.
“If this was on Canadian soil, I would have no issues with my conduct in any way, shape or form,” Vanderwerff told Metro. “I have done nothing wrong.”
His former boss disagreed, saying he would like nothing better than to battle Vanderwerff in a Cayman Islands court.
“That whole thing’s not dead yet,” said K-Coast Development owner Gilles Langlois. “There’s possible extradition in the works.”
He declined further comment.
Vanderwerff blames Langlois for all his troubles and portrayed Cayman justice as corrupt and out to get him. The vindication he so dearly wants, he stated, would come either in Canada or another impartial nation.
“He absolutely has no case against me and I have a strong against him.”
Vanderwerff now owns and runs two Calgary companies and “has secured millions of dollars worth of contracts since launching operations in early 2012,” according to a website.
He’s also been active in a number of charitable organizations.
Calgary police and the RCMP know he lives there, but their hands are tied.
If Cayman authorities want him, they have to extradite him.
If they refuse to act, Vanderwerff will likely never be proven innocent or guilty in any court of law.
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