Formula One mogul Bernie Ecclestone put up millions of dollars to guarantee a series of gold transactions that made “no commercial sense”, prosecutors said at a trial into one of the UK’s biggest money laundering operations.
Mr Ecclestone provided a $10 million personal guarantee for a gold deal for James Stunt, his son-in-law at the time, prosecutors said, as they laid out an elaborate chain of transactions aimed at hiding the origin of bags of street cash.
In total, about £266m ($328m) was banked by NatWest and then laundered, prosecutors allege.
Mr Ecclestone is not a defendant in the case and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Mr Stunt is one of eight people standing trial over allegations of laundering cash from criminal activity.
Only a few branded bars were ever made, and no F1 gold coins were minted, said Nicholas Clarke, the lead prosecution lawyer.
“The involvement in these businesses made no commercial sense at all and appears to be vanity projects” for Mr Stunt, he said.
The financing arrangement, provided by Canada’s Bank of Nova Scotia was intended to help in paying for branded gold bars and coins.
Instead, the money was used to acquire gold that would be melted and broken up and destined for Dubai, Mr Clarke said. The Canadian bank is not alleged to have done anything wrong.
The lender also delivered around £50m of gold — about 1,700 kilograms — to Mr Stunt’s company.
Mr Stunt, who was previously married to Mr Ecclestone’s daughter Petra, says he did not know the cash was criminal and has denied any misconduct.
He told authorities if he had the “slightest suspicion that anything illegal” was taking place, he would have walked away, Mr Clarke said.
But the prosecutor said Mr Stunt was not as wealthy as he claimed he was.
“His own personal finances are shrouded in mystery,” Mr Clarke said.
Much of the gold, purchased with the Bank of Nova Scotia's financing, was cut up and melted down into “wholly anonymous” grains rather than being used to produce the branded gold bars, Mr Clarke said.
The money was sent overseas “in order that, in due course, it could be returned to the crooks from where it came”, he said.
The Bank of Nova Scotia later called in the loan, requiring Mr Ecclestone to repay the full $10m, he said.
Jurors previously heard directors at the English gold dealer tried to hide that they were processing huge amounts of cash from Bank of Nova Scotia.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SPEC%20SHEET
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Kibsons%20Cares
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