Socialite James Stunt has told a court that he loved his ex-wife Petra Ecclestone – and “not her bank account”.
Stunt, 40, is among eight people on trial accused of a multi-million pound money laundering scheme.
The former son-in-law of Formula One tycoon Bernie Ecclestone is alleged to have been involved in an operation moving £266m into the bank account of Bradford-based gold dealer Fowler Oldfield between 2014 and 2016.
Leeds Cloth Hall Court heard that he became involved in the scheme after his marriage to the F1 heiress broke down and the “river of money” from her family was “running dry”.
Prosecutors claim that “criminal cash” was accumulated from across the country and put into Fowler Oldfield before things “went national” and Stunt’s London office also started receiving funds.
Stunt told jurors he got involved in the gold industry because it was “something I had a good knowledge of”.
Asked about his relationship with his ex-wife, who he divorced in 2017, he said: “I’m not a Kardashian, I’ve never done anything to achieve fame.
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“Wow, I have some money, I married a famous man’s daughter. That wasn’t what I wanted, I loved my wife, I didn’t love her bank account.”
He added that Ms Ecclestone’s family was “very controlling of our marriage” and that the couple’s three children “had to be born in the UK for tax reasons”.
Stunt became emotional when his late brother Lee Stunt was mentioned.
He said he wanted the trial to “clear my name and his”.
Prosecutors said Mr Stunt, who died in 2017, was involved in managing the business Stunt and Co, which they claim was used to collect and count the “criminal cash”.
Defending him, his sibling said: “My brother was the nicest person I have ever met and for these slanderous charges – I don’t mind for me but here’s not here to defend it himself.”
Grew up between Belgravia and country club
Detailing his childhood, Stunt said he grew up between London’s Belgravia and “quite an exclusive country club”.
He was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and became addicted to the medication benzodiazepine after suffering a panic attack at the Monza Grand Prix in Italy in 2008, he told the court.
Stunt then said he became addicted to morphine and cocaine when he and his wife separated – his brother died – and police raided Fowler Oldfield’s premises.
He added: “I have a very addictive personality. I was the second largest gambler in the world at one point.”
But he said he had been sober for three years.
As part of questioning, he was quizzed about charitable donations he had made to King Charles’s charity The Prince’s Trust and the Princess Charlene of Monaco Fund in 2015.
Stunt, 40, Heidi Buckler, 45, Greg Frankel, 44, Paul Miller, 45, Haroon Rashid, 51, Daniel Rawson, 45, Francesca Sota, 34, and Alesancer Tulloch, 41, all deny money laundering. Stunt and Sota also deny forgery. The trial continues.
