Socialite James Stunt has been acquitted by a jury of involvement in a £200 million money laundering scheme.
The 43-year-old, the former son-in-law of Formula One magnate Bernie Ecclestone, stood trial accused of permitting his Mayfair office to be used as "a trusted hub for money laundering”.
Prosecutors alleged that the network laundered £200 million in criminal proceeds over two years.
They claimed that between 2014 and 2016, cash was transported from various locations to Fowler Oldfield, a Bradford gold dealer, Stunt’s London business premises, and Pure Nines Limited's Hatton Garden office.
Mr Stunt and other defendants were accused of concealing the money's origin by laundering it through a company bank account and using the funds to purchase gold, which was then shipped to Dubai.
The other four defendants – Gregory Frankel, 47, Daniel Rawson, 47, Haroon Rashid, 54, and Arjun Babber, 32 – were convicted of money laundering.
Mr Stunt and Rawson were the only defendants present when the verdicts were delivered on Tuesday.
Following the announcement of the verdicts, Mr Stunt left the courthouse and embraced family and friends outside.
Rawson started sobbing after his guilty verdict was confirmed, and had to be comforted by a dock officer.
Jonathan Sandiford KC, prosecuting, told the jury that Frankel and Rawson were the owners of Bradford jewellers Fowler Oldfield, which 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.
Fourteen of the couriers who were seen on CCTV delivering cash to Fowler Oldfield were convicted of money laundering offences in earlier trials.
Mr Stunt, who was married to Mr Ecclestone’s daughter Petra for six years until their divorce in 2017, claimed in court that he never suspected he was "entering into a criminal agreement" when he partnered with Frankel and Rawson.
He informed jurors that he faced bankruptcy after his assets were frozen during the police investigation.
Those assets included sports cars, six properties, bank accounts worldwide, over 100 artworks, and £30 million worth of rare wines, he said.
Reflecting on the period around 2020, Mr Stunt said, "Everyone was locked down, but I had been doing lockdown before the pandemic."
He likened himself to reclusive aviator Howard Hughes, noting: "I never went out, I just stayed home."
