Tuesday 22 November 2022 07:44 PM James Stunt's 'vast money-laundering enterprise' is likened to plot of ... trends now
Socialite James Stunt’s claims of infinite wealth were ‘all a con’ so that he could be ‘treated like financial royalty,’ a court heard today.
The ex-husband of heiress Petra Ecclestone stands accused of being part of a £266 million money laundering operation, but he was a man not to be trusted, said prosecutor Nicholas Clarke, KC.
‘He has been putting on a front as he has done all his adult life,’ he said.
The scheme to turn millions in criminal cash to gold was likened to the plot of the Hollywood classic, The Sting.
In the movie starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, large amounts of cash are used in an imaginative ‘long con’ sting operation against a target who wouldn’t realise he had been tricked at the time, a jury was told.
The international money laundering operation - described as the biggest in English legal history - was being masterminded by a man called Shahid Qadar who arranged for the cash to be paid into the Fowler Oldfield NatWest bank account and gold to be sent out to Dubai, the court heard.
The massive money laundering operation allegedly involving socialite James Stunt was today likened to the plot of the Hollywood classic The Sting. Pictured, Stunt outside Cloth Hall Court, Leeds, on November 22
Couriers who dropped off the cash in bags have already been convicted of money-laundering, the jury was told.
Stunt said he would ‘never sully his lips’ with talk of his wealth but signed a document for a financial institution stating he was a billionaire, Mr Clarke said.
Commenting on his ‘billionaire’ image, he said: ‘It’s all a con, a front to be put out to the world so he could be treated like financial royalty.’
The court heard Stunt made money from selling shares in Betfair but gradually lost it as his ‘gambling and lifestyle took its toll.’ After his divorce his financial situation deteriorated rapidly.
‘Mortgages were called in, wine was sold and bankruptcy followed,’ he said.
The massive money laundering operation allegedly involving socialite James Stunt was today likened to the plot of the Hollywood classic The Sting.
In the movie starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, large amounts of cash are used in an imaginative 'long con' sting operation against a target who wouldn't realise he had been tricked at the time, a jury was told.
A talented group of con artists set up a fake high stakes betting club to pull off their brazen plan in the 1970s film.
In similar vein Stunt and his seven co-defendants had conspired to develop a believable 'cover story' for their money laundering operation that temporarily fooled banks and other reputable companies they dealt with, said prosecutor Nicholas Clarke, KC.
A talented group of con artists set up a fake high stakes betting club to pull off their brazen plan in the 1970s film The Sting (pictured)
