James Stunt among eight accused of £266m Bradford money-laundering scam

James Stunt denies money laundering and forgery charges

The former husband of heiress Petra Ecclestone has gone on trial accused of being part of a £266m money-laundering operation.

James Stunt is one of eight people accused of depositing cash in the account of Bradford gold dealer Fowler Oldfield.

Prosecutors say the money was brought into business addresses owned or managed by the defendants between January 2014 and September 2016.

The defendants all deny the charges.

Opening the case at Leeds Cloth Hall Court prosecutor Nicholas Clarke QC said cash from "a lot of criminal activity" was collected together and taken to Fowler Oldfield.

He said: "These defendants then hid its origin by washing it through a company bank account and using the proceeds to buy gold."

He told the court five of the defendants, Greg Frankel, Daniel Rawson, Paul Miller, Heidi Buckler and Haroon "Harry" Rashid, claim the prosecution cannot prove any of the cash was criminal property.

The other defendants, James Stunt, Alexander Tulloch and Francesca Sota, said they "don't know whether it was", he said.

Bradford business Fowler Oldfield, pictured here in 2014, is at the centre of the alleged money laundering

The barrister told jurors that on some days "well over a million pounds in used notes" was being paid into the Fowler Oldfield account

A police investigation found that between January 2014 and September 2016 more than £266m in cash and unknown deposits was paid into the Fowler Oldfield bank account.

The court heard the cash was transferred mainly to two Birmingham gold suppliers to buy gold.

A total of £46m was also transferred into an account in the name of James Stunt's company, Stunt & Co Ltd.

Mr Clarke went on to describe the defendant's denials as "nonsense"

He said: "Each of them must at the very least have suspected that the source of the money was criminal in origin, it could not have come from a legitimate source and no legitimate source has ever been identified for it."

Ms Buckler, 45, Mr Frankel, 44, Mr Miller, 45, Mr Rashid, 51, Mr Rawson, 45, Ms Sota, 34, Mr Stunt, 40 and Mr Tulloch, 41, all deny money laundering.

Mr Stunt and Ms Sota also deny a charge of forgery.

Mr Stunt married Ms Ecclestone, daughter of F1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone, in Italy in 2011. They had three children together but divorced in 2017.

The trial continues.