A Hatton Garden jeweller claims he had no idea that part of £4.8million gold toilet from Blenheim Palace he sold was stolen, a court heard.
Jeweller Bora Guccuk, 41, who is accused of helping to sell part of the ‘Bog of Gold’, took the precious metal from 40-year-old burglar, James Sheen.
The installation was taken from the palace where Winston Churchill was born in an ‘audacious’ five minute raid in the early hour of 14 September 2019.
The court heard that Guccuk had been put in contact with Sheen by businessman Fred Doe, 36.
Sheen has admitted burglary, jurors heard, while one of the accused burglars Michael Jones, 38, denied the same charge.
Businessman Doe and Hatton Garden jeweller Guccuk both deny converting or transferring criminal property.
Kevin Dent, defending Guccuk, said Guccuk had no idea the gold was stolen and claimed Sheen lied to get the best possible price.
Guccuk was due to buy the gold at the market price of £26,500 per kilo at the time, and taking a four per cent cut for his part in it.
It was heard earlier in the trial, that Doe, Sheen and Guccuk had negotiated a price for the gold, which was discovered via screen grabs, voice notes and messages found on Mr Sheen’s phone.
A Hatton Garden jeweller, Bora Guccuk, claims he had no idea that part of £4.8million gold toilet from Blenheim Palace he sold was stolen, a court heard
A gang armed with sledgehammers and crowbars were caught on CCTV (pictured) rolling the toilet out of smashed window and into the boot of a waiting car, before screeching away
The toilet, which weighed 98kg fully plumbed in, was snatched in a dramatic five-minute raid on Blenheim Palace (pictured) shortly before 5am on September 14, 2019
It was alleged that the jeweller, who ran Hatton Garden jewellers in London, would make £3,000 in profits for every kilo he sold, the BBC reported.
Mr Dent suggested his buying at market price would not make sense if he knew the gold was stolen.
He said: ‘Mr Guccuk was approaching this potential sale as though he was purchasing legitimate gold, otherwise the price points don’t make any sense do they?
‘If that is right, if Mr Guccuk was looking to buy at market rates, where does the prosecution case go from there?
‘Nobody in this case has even suggested that a sale of ten or so kilos of gold would in itself be suspicious.
‘Putting it all together, this you may think is the real question, can you rule out the possibility that Mr Guccuk was offering the proper legitimate ordinary market rate because he believed this to be ordinary legitimate gold?
‘If you can’t rule that out, how does that help you in terms of your verdict here.
‘Did James Sheen have motive to conceal from Mr Guccuk where the gold had come from?
He is on trial along with two other men at Oxford Crown Court accused of involvement in the plot to steal the 18-carat gold toilet (pictured)
He argued that Mr Sheen had a motive to conceal from Gurruck where the gold had originated from.
‘Mr Sheen had very good reason to conceal the origins of the gold from a potential buyer like Mr Guccuk, why?
‘The answer is obvious; because Mr Sheen could only hope to convince a buyer that it was legitimate because who would pay top dollar for bent goods?
‘You are going to get a much higher price if you can convince someone it is from a legitimate source.’
Mr Dent continued: ‘Can you sensibly rule out the possibility here that Jimmy Sheen was trying to get a better deal for his gold by passing it off as legitimate?
‘What does the evidence say about why Mr Guccuk was chosen as a potential purchaser?
‘You can see it is all about Mr Guccuk being a big player, somebody who knows all about gold and gold markets and somebody, most importantly of all, who had the clout to pay for the gold.’
He added: ‘The messaging is all about Mr Guccuk being somebody with the clout to get the deal done.’
Michael Jones (pictured), 39, visited the historic estate on two occasions in the days before a gang smashed their way inside to steal the artwork on September 14, 2019, including a visit to the exhibition a day earlier
Doe told jurors he had no idea the gold was stolen and that he felt like a ‘fool’ for getting involved in selling it.
The toilet, which weighed 98kg fully plumbed in, was snatched in a dramatic five-minute raid on Blenheim Palace shortly before 5am on September 14.
A gang armed with sledgehammers and crowbars were caught on CCTV rolling the toilet out of smashed window and into the boot of a waiting car, before screeching away.
Michael Jones is said to have stolen the 18-carat gold loo named ‘America’ by conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan.
Jones previously denied his being at the Palace in the days leading up to the robbery was reconnaissance.
Jones, of Oxford, denied one count of buglary. Sheen, 40, from Wellingborough pleaded guilty to burglary.
Doe, of Ascot, Windsor and Guccuk of London, Doe, deny conspiracy to transfer criminal property.
The trial continues with Judge Ian Pringle KC due to sum the case up on Monday morning before jurors begin their deliberations.
