James Stunt was “very practical” in the alleged £ 266 million money laundering operation, the court said

The Court received Mr Tulloch’s second communication in April 2016, when Mr Stunt lived outside the country where it was written: “Make sure I am informed at least every day about £ in London and Bradford. Gold sold: Lock ins (Scotland), Cookson’s, Dubai. Refining: any material coming from the refinery . “

Prosecutor Nicholas Clarke QC said this showed that Mr Stunt “took a very practical approach, even though he was very far away at the time”.

He told the court: “He was not involved in the day-to-day management of the buying and selling of gold and was not involved in most correspondence via electronic means.

“But the emails show, among other things, that he was very aware and approved of what was going on.”

A court in Leeds Cloth Hall has already heard that hundreds of thousands of pounds were brought in bags and sacks at Fowler Oldfield in Bradford, West Yorkshire at the same time.

The jurors were told that the alleged money laundering was then “national” as one of Fowler Oldfield’s directors, Greg Frankel, became vice-president of Stunt & Co, and Mr Stunt’s premises in London also began to receive cash.

Five Fowler Oldfield defendants – Greg Frankel, Daniel Rawson, Paul Miller, Heidi Buckler and Haroon “Harry” Rashid – all say the prosecution cannot prove that any money was the property of the crime.

Mr Stunt and the accused from his company – Mr Tulloch and Mrs Sota – say they “do not know if it was”, the court heard.

But prosecutors say it is “blindly obvious that it was a crime” and each of the accused “must at least suspect that the source of the money is of criminal origin”.

All defendants deny money laundering. Mr Stunt and Mrs Sota also deny counterfeiting.