The Unluckiest Couple In Britain?
A couple who ran a caravan park may have lost their £1.2m life savings after they sold the business and deposited the profits in a failed Icelandic bank.
Darren and Ruth Johnston cashed in the 17-acre site, a family business for three generations, after a drop in takings last winter made them fear a recession (at least they called that one right). They hoped to ride out the storm with their money in a high-interest account and buy a smaller caravan business during brighter economic times.
The Johnstons chose an offshore bond offered by Royal Skandia after a financial adviser recommended the six per cent interest rate. But the bond was deposited with an Isle of Man subsidiary of Icelandic bank Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander (KSF), which went bust this month.
While UK depositors have had their money guaranteed by the Government, offshore KSF accounts are not covered. Nor is the money protected by an Isle of Man guarantee for personal depositors, as the Royal Skandia bond is regarded as a corporate one.
Mr Johnston was yesterday formally told he can no longer access his savings.
To add insult to injury the couple also face a £120,000 capital gains tax bill on their vanished profits!
Darren and Ruth Johnston cashed in the 17-acre site, a family business for three generations, after a drop in takings last winter made them fear a recession (at least they called that one right). They hoped to ride out the storm with their money in a high-interest account and buy a smaller caravan business during brighter economic times.
The Johnstons chose an offshore bond offered by Royal Skandia after a financial adviser recommended the six per cent interest rate. But the bond was deposited with an Isle of Man subsidiary of Icelandic bank Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander (KSF), which went bust this month.
While UK depositors have had their money guaranteed by the Government, offshore KSF accounts are not covered. Nor is the money protected by an Isle of Man guarantee for personal depositors, as the Royal Skandia bond is regarded as a corporate one.
Mr Johnston was yesterday formally told he can no longer access his savings.
To add insult to injury the couple also face a £120,000 capital gains tax bill on their vanished profits!