Bernie Ecclestone asked to guarantee $10mn loan, money laundering trial hears
Former Formula One boss agreed to request from ex-son-in-law, who is on trial for alleged involvement in £266mn crime
Former Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone was asked by his ex-son-in-law James Stunt to provide a $10mn guarantee for a business venture “which made no commercial sense”, it was claimed on Thursday in one of Britain’s biggest ever money laundering prosecutions.
A jury at Leeds Crown Court was told on Thursday about the alleged involvement in the scheme of James Stunt, who is one of eight defendants standing trial for allegedly laundering £266mn.
Stunt, who was married to Bernie Ecclestone’s daughter Petra from 2011 to 2017, was the chair of Stunt & Co, one of three companies which prosecutors have claimed were used in the operation. All eight defendants deny wrongdoing.
The Ecclestones are not defendants in the trial and are not accused of any wrongdoing.
The trial has heard allegations that between January 2014 and September 2016, millions of pounds of what prosecutors have dubbed “criminal cash” was couriered to the Bradford offices of gold dealer Fowler Oldfield. It was then allegedly paid into the company’s NatWest bank account “to hide its true origins and give it a veneer of respectability” as part of a “very sophisticated money laundering system”.
The money was then used to buy gold which was shipped to Dubai, the trial has heard.
The prosecution has claimed that there were close links between Fowler Oldfield and Stunt & Co. On Thursday prosecutors alleged that £28mn in cash had been collected from the Mayfair offices of Stunt & Co after it was counted there and later deposited into Fowler Oldfield accounts. The Crown alleged the operation had “all the hallmarks of a classic money laundering operation.”
On Thursday prosecutor Nicholas Clarke QC claimed that through marriage to Petra Ecclestone, Stunt “enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle, although his own personal finances are shrouded in mystery”.
“Backed by his father-in-law’s wealth, Stunt was able to establish business support, and through his marriage he had access to his wife’s money. There is evidence of transfers of very large amounts from her accounts into his. They also had joint accounts that, effectively, had unlimited resources,” Clarke claimed.
Stunt’s divorce from Petra Ecclestone “and the fact that the river of money from the Ecclestone sources may have been running dry” may “be an explanation as to why he got involved in a process that has been demonstrably proven to have involved the laundering of millions of pounds of cash,” Clarke alleged to the trial.
The court heard that Stunt contacted the Canada-based Bank of Nova Scotia in 2015 with a business venture which involved creating Stunt-branded gold bars and “Formula One gold coins”. The bank signalled it was willing to do business with Stunt if the bank facility was underwritten by a letter of credit which Stunt could not provide, prosecutors told the jury. Bank of Nova Scotia has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
“James Stunt claimed he was not able to guarantee it himself as all his money was tied up in America. Instead, he put forward his father-in-law Bernie Ecclestone as guarantor,” Clarke claimed, adding that the agreement was only secured by way of a letter of credit whereby Bernie Ecclestone would provide a $10mn guarantee.
“The lack of provable personal wealth and available capital resources is demonstrated by the fact Stunt had to go to his father-in-law for the guarantee . . . If Stunt were the billionaire that he claims then there would be no need for the outside guarantee at all, “Clarke claimed. He added that only a few Stunt & Co branded bars were ever made, no Formula One gold coins were ever made and Stunt’s business venture “made no commercial sense”.
Stunt, 40, along with his former personal assistant Francesca Sota, 34, and Alexander Tulloch, 41, a former vice-president of Stunt & Co, all from London; as well as Gregory Frankel, 44, of West Yorkshire; Daniel Rawson, 45, from Leeds and also Paul Miller, 45, of Wetherby, Heidi Buckler, 45 of Leeds and Bradford jeweller Haroon Rashid, 51, all deny one count of money laundering. Stunt and Sota also deny one count of forgery.
The trial continues.