Socialite tells money laundering trial he never agreed to ‘criminal enterprise’

Socialite James Stunt told his money laundering trial he never suspected he was “entering into a criminal agreement” when he went into business with a Bradford gold dealer.

The former son-in-law of F1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone is one of five men on trial over an alleged multimillion-pound scheme to turn criminal cash into untraceable gold.

Prosecutors say Stunt, 42, who was married to Mr Ecclestone’s daughter Petra for six years, allowed his prestigious Mayfair office to be used as “a trusted hub for money laundering” as part of the alleged network, which saw £200 million from the proceeds of crime laundered over two years.

Jurors have heard that between 2014 and 2016, cash was brought from all over the country to Bradford jewellers Fowler Oldfield, Stunt’s business premises in London, and a Hatton Garden company called Pure Nines Ltd.

The defendants are accused of hiding the origin of the money by washing it through a company bank account and using the proceeds to buy gold, which was shipped to Dubai.

On Wednesday, Stunt told Leeds Crown Court he had started his business, Stunt & Co, as a gold bullion dealer and that the plan was to source raw gold and turn it into high-quality gold bars.

The court heard he built a refinery in Sheffield, where he was introduced to Fowler Oldfield owners Daniel Rawson and Greg Frankel by a contact at the Sheffield Assay Office, who introduced them as a “very respectable” supplier of scrap gold.

Jurors heard he started a “joint venture” with Fowler Oldfield in 2015 which would see them running the refinery and providing scrap gold, while Stunt provided the financial backing.

Stunt said he later accepted a proposal by Frankel and Rawson for their clients’ cash to be deposited in his office at Leckonfield House.

He said he was told they had “cash customers” who wanted a place where they could deposit their money in London, before it was collected by G4S or the Post Office.

Asked by his barrister, Trevor Burke KC, whether he believed he was “entering into a criminal agreement to facilitate the deposit of criminal proceeds of crime,” Stunt replied, “Absolutely not.”

Asked if he would ever have agreed to commit a crime or suspected he was becoming involved in a criminal enterprise, he repeated: “Absolutely not.”

He gave the same answer when asked if he had “laundered the proceeds of criminal conduct”.

Stunt told the court he was never in the building when couriers delivered money to his offices.

Stunt said he considered Frankel a friend, letting him live rent-free in his London apartment and helping him lease a Lamborghini.

Jurors heard the relationship deteriorated when some gold went missing in 2016, and Stunt said that despite a number of meetings with Rawson and Frankel, he never received a satisfactory answer as to where it went.

Frankel, 47, Rawson, 47, Haroon Rashid 54, and Arjun Babber, 32, are also on trial at Leeds Crown Court charged with money laundering.

Opening the case to jurors in October, prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC said Fowler Oldfield had become the centre of a multimillion-pound, money laundering operation by the time police intervened in September 2016.

The jury heard the “dirty money” was delivered by couriers to three sites: Fowler Oldfield, Stunt & Co and Pure Nines – before being paid into Fowler Oldfield’s bank account.

The defendants deny the charges and the trial continues.