CANOE fraudster John Darwin and his ex-wife Anne now have no known assets after his £40,000 pension was seized, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

The couple who faked his death in the North Sea 13 years ago, allowing her to claim hundreds of thousands of pounds in life insurance payouts, have now repaid £541,762.39

While John hid in the marital home in Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, Anne pretended to be a grieving widow, fooling even their two sons. The couple then moved to Panama to start a new life.

But their story unravelled when John returned to the UK, claiming to have amnesia, in December 2007.

The Darwins were eventually prosecuted for fraud and were jailed in 2008.

The couple, who have since split, have been subject to Proceeds of Crime hearings.

She has repaid more than £500,000 while the £40,000 he paid in July last year from his pension meant he no longer had any assets.

Following his conviction, the court found that John, 64, had benefited by £679,194.62, but having pretended to be dead, all assets were in his wife's name.

The court therefore made an order for £1 allowing the CPS to amend the order should any assets, such as this pension, become available.

A CPS spokesman said: "The Darwins now have no known assets remaining for confiscation."

Nick Price, head of proceeds of crime at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "When John Darwin devised his plan to defraud insurance companies, he didn't think he'd get caught at all.

"But he also didn't bank on the dedication and determination of my team to recover the money he stole - even seven years later.

"This case really shows that fraud doesn't pay.

"My thanks also go to police colleagues in the North East Regional Asset Recovery Team for their hard work."