Stunt: I had so much cash that I gave Bernie’s wife £500,000 in notes to help buy a Monet
JAMES Stunt held large amounts of cash because of his insatiable gambling habit and even had enough to give his mother-in-law £500,000 in notes to help buy a Monet painting, a court heard yesterday.
The former husband of heiress Petra Ecclestone has been accused of being at the centre of a £266million money laundering operation which involved the transfer of tens of millions of pounds in cash from his company to the NatWest bank.
He said during his marriage he lived in ‘America’s biggest house’ in Los Angeles where there was a ‘strong room’ to store his cash.
Stunt told Leeds Cloth Hall Court the money he held was ‘my cash’ and not the proceeds of crime. He said: ‘It was predomisuddenly nantly gambling winnings tax-free from a casino.’ Stunt told the court sometimes he would ‘gamble’ with father-in-law Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula 1 tycoon. ‘He would pay me cash rather than a bookie,’ he said.
Stunt, who previously described himself as the ‘world’s second biggest gambler’, said he went to all the top casinos in London. ‘I had a £5million credit line in every casino in London and Las Vegas,’ he told the court. And he said cash was readily available to him.
On one occasion in 2012 he provided mother-in-law Slavica Ecclestone with £500,000 cash to help him buy a £2million Monet painting. Her help was needed because she was a Swiss resident, he said.
During yesterday’s evidence, Stunt spoke about his marriage to the Formula One heiress and how his life fell apart when it broke up over a ‘trivial argument that snowballed’.
All was well when Petra paid for a lavish 35th birthday party for her husband at trendy London nightclub Tramp in January 2017, the court heard, with American rap star Sean Combs, also known as P.Diddy and Puff Daddy, providing the entertainment.
The tycoon said his wife generously ‘picked up the bill as a birthday present’ but before long Petra left Stunt, taking their three children with her.
Stunt denied the prosecution claim that he became involved in money-laundering in 2015 when his marriage was in trouble and the ‘river of money’ from the Ecclestone family was drying up.
‘It was a falsehood, there was no problem with my marriage whatsoever at that point,’ he said.
Stunt claimed he became ‘more ostentatious’ after his marriage split and continued to give cash away generously.
Describing how his life spiralled out of control from 2016, he said his brother Lee’s death in September, followed days later by a police raid on his offices in Mayfair, had a devastating impact.
He said his wife leaving him, a subsequent addiction to cocaine and the trauma of an aggravated burglary at his home, in which he was ‘struck with a gun butt and garroted’ and a gun held to his girlfriend Helena Robinson’s head, also took a toll.
But he said police dropped the ‘pistol-whipping’ probe but seized his art works. He said to the court: ‘What have they done to the justice system to make them treat me this way?’
Stunt also recalled happier times at the start of his relationship with Petra, 33. At a lavish engagement party chart topper Rihanna performed and ‘pretty much anyone who was anyone was there’. His wedding at a castle in Rome was
‘It was a rather decadent affair’
even more extravagant. ‘It was a rather decadent affair,’ he said.
Eric Clapton played the first dance. The Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys and David Guetta entertained guests including ‘several’ members of the Royal Family, the Rothschild banking family and the Hiltons, the court heard.
Early in the marriage he lived with Petra in ‘America’s biggest house’ in Los Angeles, where he employed up to 50 domestic staff. On one occasion in 2012 he invited his friend and co-defendant Alex Tulloch to stay with him for Tulloch’s ‘stag do’.
Stunt and best man financier Ben Goldsmith arranged an elaborate prank, splitting the cost at around $60,000 (£52,000) each. He said: ‘We had Alex arrested for a crime he didn’t commit.’ Tulloch was put in a fake police cell and believed he could miss his wedding. ‘He did see the funny side after 48 hours of trauma,’ said Stunt.
He was asked about his company’s ‘joint venture’ with Bradfordbased gold bullion dealer Fowler Oldfield. He said he kept 70 per cent of the profits because ‘we had the money’ and Fowler Oldfield, who were ‘bringing customers’ got 30 per cent.
Stunt said his dream was to promote his ‘brand’ by sourcing gold and manufacturing gold bars bearing his name. ‘To this day I don’t understand what Stunt and Co have done which is illegal, I really don’t,’ he said. Stunt, 40, Tulloch, 41, and six others deny money laundering. Stunt also denies forgery. The trial continues.