James Stunt, 42, was involved in £207m international money laundering ring that turned ‘dirty’ money into ‘clean’ gold, court hears

Socialite James Stunt was involved in a £207million international money laundering operation to turn ‘dirty’ money into ‘clean’ gold, a court heard.

Vast amounts of ‘criminal cash’ were allegedly paid into the bank accounts of a Bradford-based company Fowler Oldfield Ltd, dealing in precious metals and jewellery.

This effectively bypassed official checks into the source of the money, which was then used to buy gold, Leeds Crown Court was told.

James Stunt, the former son-in-law of billionaire Bernie Ecclestone, is accused of becoming embroiled in and profiting from the alleged money laundering operation by refining gold bars and processing cash.

His Mayfair-based company became a ‘trusted hub’ for money laundering, said prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford, KC.

Stunt, 42, Gregory Frankel, 47, Daniel Rawson, 47, Haroon Rashid, 54, and Arjun Babber, 32, all deny money laundering.

Mr Sandiford outlined the roles of Stunt and his colleagues in the complex and high value money laundering scheme. He said the identity of the criminals supplying the cash is not known.

But Stunt ended up taking 70 per cent of the profits from the money laundering service, with Fowler Oldfield taking 30 per cent, the court heard.

Mr Sandiford said in 2015 his company Stunt and Co set up a refinery in the Sheffield Assay office in a legitimate venture to refine scrap gold and turn it into ‘high purity Stunt branded gold bars.’

But the prosecutor said gold obtained via a loan agreement with a bank was before long being ‘misused as a source of gold to be purchased with criminal cash laundered through Fowler Oldfield.’

Stunt, the former husband of heiress Petra Ecclestone, also used his plush offices in London to be used for the delivery of criminal cash and gold bought with it, the court heard.

Indeed, it became a ‘trusted hub’ with between £20m and £30m in cash was dropped off at the offices during a six month period in 2016. The cash was counted and paid into NatWest bank accounts.

Mr Sandiford told the jury in total between 2014 and 2016 over £200m of dirty money was laundered by those involved in the entire scheme.

Commenting on the criminal source of the cash, Mr Sandiford said it was ‘most likely source was large-scale drug dealing.’

It could also have been from criminal fraud, tax evasion or dealing in high-value stolen property or illegal gambling.

He said 14 couriers who delivered cash to Fowler Oldfield in Bradford have been identified, prosecuted and convicted of money laundering offences.

Explaining the roles of other defendants, Mr Sandiford said Frankel and Rawson were at the heart of the scheme and used their legitimate jewelery business Fowler Oldfield as a ‘cover’ for laundering cash.

They could have reported the ‘dirty’ cash to the authorities at any time but allegedly ignored their legal obligations under money laundering roles to check out where the money comes from.

‘A reputable bank or trader would have insisted on proper due diligence,’ said Mr Sandiford.

Rashid owned another jewelery business that had no premises or stock and yet delivered millions of pounds to Fowler Oldfield.

Babber was from a London-based family of legitimate jewelers and formed his own company to launder cash, the court heard.

The court heard Stunt denies knowing or suspecting the cash was criminal property. Rawson and Frankel accept some of the cash was criminal but claim they didn’t suspect that it was. While Rashid and Babber claim the cash they dealt with was ‘legitimate’ and not criminal.

The case continues.