Tycoon James Stunt met ‘up to five women a week’ and had ‘several visits’ in the run up to the discovery that a £515,000 diamond had been stolen from his home, a court heard.
Stunt’s former bodyguard Justinas Ivaskevicius, 34, is accused of stealing the £515,000 diamond as well as £50,000 cash from the safe at his £10million home in Belgravia in December 2017.
Mr Stunt’s former head of security Gabriel Lekwarat previously told police in a statement that ‘up to five women a week’ visited the tycoon.
He added that there had been ‘several’ visits in the run up to the discovery of the missing jewels on December 14.
Today Mr Lekwarat told Southwark Crown Court that his employer had previously ordered him to pay one of the women with a gold bar, a court heard.
James Stunt (pictured) was ‘taking lots of drugs’ when his former bodyguard Justinas Ivaskevicius, 34, allegedly stole the 16.18-carat yellow diamond ring from his safe, a court heard
Mr Lekwarat told the court: ‘I was told to meet a lady at St John’s Wood near a pub and give the gold bar to her.’
He said he ‘didn’t know and didn’t ask’ what it was for, but said he had paid her cheques ‘once or twice’ on previous occasions.
The security guard said he was surprised at his boss’s reaction when he was told ‘he had potentially lost £90million worth of gems.
Mr Lekwarat said: ‘When there’s a slight scratch on one of his cars usually Mr Stunt goes ballistic but he didn’t look very shocked.’
The witness told jurors how Mr Stunt’s godfather, the well-known north London crime boss Terry Adams, paid a visit to the house after the raid.
Mr Stunt arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London to give evidence in the trial of Justinas Ivaskevicius, 34, who is accused of stealing a 16.18 carat diamond from Stunt’s Belgravia mews
The tycoon split from F1 heiress Petra Ecclestone in 2017 after six years of marriage (pictured together)
Michael Lavers, defending Ivaskevicius, told the witness: ‘You said people will never steal anything because they are terrified of Terry Adams, James Stunt’s godfather.’
Mr Lekwarat said: ‘Terry Adams came in and told me make sure you guys sort it out and walked off. He was very upset.’
Martin Bowyer, prosecuting, has told the court how six months after the raid, on 10 May 2018, the diamond, ‘bearing the price tag of £550,000 turned up at the Gemological Institute of America in New York’.
He said Ivaskevicius was involved in the theft of that diamond and ‘during the course of the police investigation into the theft other criminality of this defendant was uncovered.
Mr Bowyer said: ‘Searches of addresses linked to him demonstrate his involvement in a cannabis farm, the possession of a significant quantity of cash representing his proceeds of crime, in handling a quantity of stolen cheques and the use of a number of false identities.’
Security guard Justinas Ivaskevicius, 34, is accused of stealing the diamond from Mr Stunt’s Belgravia property (pictured)
After arresting Ivaskevicious at his home in Fallowfield, Cambridge in May, Flying Squad detectives found £50,000 and £30,000 in cash, said to be proceeds of criminal activity.
British-Lithuanian Ivaskevicius denies theft, two counts of possessing criminal, carrying a British driving licence with improper intention and producing a controlled drug, namely cannabis and four counts of handling stolen goods.
Jurors have been shown pictures of the contents of the safe, which included two blue diamonds, a pink diamond, a large white diamond, six 1kg gold bars, the yellow diamond ring and a Cartier engagement ring, which Stunt said he gave his ex-wife.
The trial continues.