Disgraced Rolf Harris died penniless after 'wiping out £16m fortune'

Disgraced TV star Rolf Harris died penniless after wiping out his £16million fortune leaving it difficult for his victims to claim compensation.

The vile paedophile died of neck cancer and old age last year after spending his final six years following his release from prison living as a near-recluse with his wife in their £5million riverside mansion in Bray, Berkshire. 

Harris was convicted of 12 indecent assaults, after a trial exposed an avalanche of evidence showing his disturbing behaviour towards women and girls.

The entertainer was convicted of abusing a close friend of his daughter, Bindi Nicholls, over the course of 16 years as well as an eight-year-old girl seeking an autograph and two girls in their early teens.

After his death, it was said that he left a £16million fortune that he amassed during his successful career to his wife Alwen Hughes and daughter Bindi, 60.

However, probate documents seen by the Sun show that his assets were said to be worth just £438,802 when he died.  

And the net value of his estate was £0 when expenses were taken out.

It is believed that most of his fortune was spent to make it difficult for his victims, who were seeking compensation, to access his wealth following his death.

A large part of the fortune is understood to have been used for 24-hour carers to look after him and his wife, who died in September after suffering from Dementia.

His will was last signed in March 2022, a year before his death, and was witnesses by two of his carers, legal documents show. 

Investigator and ex-detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who helped to convict Harris, said: 'This is yet another disgrace. He has obviously planned to get rid of money and assets and there is no way he'd have actually been penniless.

'He had amassed a huge amount of wealth and I would assume he has squirreled it away to avoid victims making claims on it, even after his death. The man had no shame.'

It understood Rolf Harris' health took a turn for the worse after the sudden death of his poodle earlier in 2022.

Harris married Ms Hughes in March 1958 after meeting at art school.

Best known for hits Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport and Jake The Peg, as well as a string of children's TV hits, Harris also painted the 80th birthday portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

He was the face of British Paints for more than three decades before he was dumped by the brand when he was arrested in 2013.

The following year, Harris was found guilty on 12 counts of indecent assault, and was sentenced to five years and nine months in jail .

The assaults include one on an eight-year-old autograph hunter, two on girls in their early teens, and a catalogue of abuse against his daughter's friend of over 16 years.

He was released on parole in May 2017 after serving three years behind bars.

Of the 12 convictions, one was overturned on appeal in November 2017, and a jury chose not to convict him in two additional cases in the same year.