Reported by Alistair Gray

Socialite James Stunt allowed his offices in London’s Mayfair to become a “trusted hub” for criminality, prosecutors claimed on Thursday at one of the UK’s biggest money laundering trials.

The former son-in-law of Formula 1 head Bernie Ecclestone was accused of being part of a scheme that allowed criminals to funnel more than £200mn of “dirty money” into the banking system over two years.

Stunt, 42, is one of five individuals standing trial at Leeds Crown Court charged with money laundering alongside Gregory Frankel, 47, Daniel Rawson, 47, Haroon Rashid, 54, and Arjun Babber, 32.

A Bradford-based precious metals and jewellery dealer owned by Frankel and Rawson, Fowler Oldfield, was a financial “gateway” for criminals between 2014 and 2016, the court heard.

Prosecutors said the scheme allowed the criminals, whose identity was unknown, to circumvent financial due-diligence checks. This allowed them to hide the illicit sources of their funds as it “appeared to be a legitimate source” and most of it was used to buy gold, jurors were told.

Read full report: https://www.ft.com/content/644bfadb-dc17-4065-afc1-4d3e5b1348d2