Socialite James Stunt has told a British court he “didn't know it was an offence” to ask his personal assistant to “forge” his signature so he could buy an Andy Warhol painting.
The 40-year-old former son-in-law of F1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone said he was “jacked up on morphine” in a Los Angeles hospital when he sent an email to Francesca Sota telling her to “please forge my signature” so he could draw £320,000 from one of his bank accounts.
Mr Stunt is one of eight people on trial over an alleged multimillion-pound money-laundering operation.
Prosecutors at Leeds Cloth Hall Court have previously claimed that during the investigation into the alleged network, “it became apparent that Stunt instructed Sota to forge his signature on an important financial document” in February 2015.
On Thursday, Mr Stunt told the court that on that day, he had been taking medication while staying in hospital following a tennis injury sustained at the Los Angeles home he was sharing with Petra Ecclestone, who was his wife at the time.
He said: “It was the first time I have ever tried morphine. I was floating on a cloud, you vomit and things, but it's a wonderful feeling.”
Mr Stunt said he had tried to buy a painting by the American artist with one of his “multiple bank accounts” but “made a human error and didn't realise there weren't enough funds in the account”.
Jurors have previously heard that on February 9, 2015, Mr Stunt told the Arbuthnot Latham private bank that he was going to write a cheque to be drawn on his account for £320,000.
Prosecutor Nicholas Clarke KC said a document was sent for Mr Stunt to sign before they would allow him to draw the additional funds from the account.
The court was told of an email from Mr Stunt to Ms Sota which said: “Sorry to call so late was in hospital I made payment my bank is saying I need to sign something meaning they have not made them please forge my signature first thing in the morning get Lee or witness it yourself please this must be signed and emailed to the relevant parties. Thank you x.”
Later, it was said, Mr Stunt wrote: “Call me as soon as you can I need that bank thing signed witnessed and sent to them or the payment won't be sent that screws me badly!”
An email from Ms Sota was later sent to the bank saying: “Please find attached the signed document by Mr Stunt and myself as a witness.”
Mr Stunt told jurors he was “a man of integrity” and “didn't prejudice a bank”.
He said: “It's my own money, I think this [forgery] is a laughable charge.”
The accused said he “didn't mean to put [Sota] in any precarious position” and “didn't know this was even an offence”.
“I didn't mean forgery. Forge can mean a friendship, I could forge a friendship with you, Your Honour,” Mr Stunt said. “I meant, please make my signature in my name.
“I thought it was part of her duties [as a personal assistant].”
Mr Stunt told the court that businessmen including his father and Mr Ecclestone have stamps with their signatures on them.
“I thought Ms Sota had full authority with my permission to stamp my signature.
“Bernie Ecclestone does it, my father does it — if that's a crime you should lock up half the court.”
The court was shown a picture of Mr Stunt with King Charles III, who was Prince of Wales at the time, which the accused said was taken either at Clarence House or St James' Palace.
He told the court “there are more than one photo of me and His Majesty”.
Mr Stunt also said he knew former prime minister David Cameron “intimately”.
The jury has heard the alleged money-laundering operation led to £266 million being deposited in the bank account of Bradford gold dealer Fowler Oldfield from 2014 to 2016.
Prosecutors say “criminal cash” was brought from all over the country to Fowler Oldfield's premises in Bradford, West Yorkshire, before the scheme “went national” and Mr Stunt's offices in London also started receiving money.
Mr Stunt, Ms Sota, Heidi Buckler, Greg Frankel, Paul Miller, Haroon Rashid, Daniel Rawson and Alexander Tulloch all deny laundering money. Mr Stunt and Ms Sota also deny forgery.
The trial continues.
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Greenwood 77')
Everton 1 (Lindelof 36' og)
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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