Riddle of insider’s ‘suitcase of money’
LOTTO insider Giles Knibbs left a bag stuffed with cash for “safekeeping” before taking his own life, it has been claimed.
The 38-year-old is alleged to have given vital information to convicted sex attacker Edward Putman for his 2009 win.
But as his relationship with the Lotto rapist began to crumble, he is said to have left a “suitcase full of money” for safekeeping. A source said: “There’s a reason some people are not speaking about this.
“Out there somewhere is a suitcase full of money. It has been seen. Giles Knibbs took this and hid it when he started to fall out with Putman.
“Nobody knows where this is now, he may have passed this on to someone for safekeeping prior to
Mr Sales, of Shenley, Herts, added: “If there was any way of proving what they did I would be very, very keen to do so.”
Putman, who bought an £800,000 house in Kings Langley, Herts, with his winnings, has kept a low profile since the Gambling Commission report.
But Lotto chiefs faced claims of a cover-up after the report had 195 pages altered and 79 removed.
It has been claimed Mr Knibbs left 14 deathbed letters detailing the alleged scam.
Earlier this year the Sunday Mirror told how Putman, who was jailed in 1991 for the violent rape of a 17-year-old, waved a phoney winning ticket at neighbours in a “dry run” five months before he bagged the jackpot.
The numbers on the “winning” ticket he submitted to Camelot had been drawn on March 11, 2009 and matched an unclaimed one bought in Worcestershire.
The testimony of Putman’s ex-pal Stephen Warner sparked a fresh probe by cops who were due to question four new witnesses.
Putman is said to have met Mr Knibbs in 2003 when he did building work for the IT expert’s parents.
The pair harboured dreams of property development and began working on deals, with Mr Knibbs bankrolling the purchase of a house.
But in October 2015 he took his own life while on police bail, arousing suspicion. his suicide. They may have come into his money.”
It is believed Knibbs was secretly recorded implicating himself after acting as the “inside man” in the alleged £2.5million fraud.
But he killed himself while police probed claims he was part of a plot to blackmail Putman. Sources say he was so scared just before his death he rigged his £500,000 home with CCTV cameras.
dan.warburton @trinitymirror.com