Quite simply if Amaral sues the McCanns for causing him financial loss and hardship he is going to have to prove it and to do that his alleged losses will be evaluated. This will involve scrutiny of all the finances and assets available to him over the period referred to including, I imagine, those accrued from his career as a media celebrity.
Should he have transferred anything to his wife's name in the interim, I imagine it would be legitimate to scrutinise that also.
His legal expenses have been met by public subscription from the word go ... therefore having paid nothing from his own pocket towards them I cannot envisage a Court reimbursing him.
Make no mistake about it ... if Amaral sues ... the Courts will scrutinise his finances.
We look at this through prism of English law and our own prejudices.
I don't know what options are available to him under Portuguese law do you?
Under US Law there is a thing called "Damages at Large" [not to be confused with English Damages at Large which is different]. I believe in England it is called general damages.
The monetary aspect vis a vis sequestration will covered by court procedures, one presumes. Certainly if found not guilty Sr Amarals frozen assets will be restored to what they would have been had the case not been brought. Damages at large is that lovely woolly area of feelings and emotion so is not quantifiable except by the judge. Sr Amaral may go for that but then having had the benefit of "going to school on the McCann putt" as it were he may decide that one isn't worth pursuing.
He may decide it is better all round to sit still, have the frozen assets unfrozen and restored to parity and let the other side think he is going to do someything until it has timed out.
