Man accused of money laundering ‘looked after £200k for Led Zeppelin’

Paul Alan Bettie, 65, has admitted not making a cash declaration when leaving Guernsey, but denied acquiring, using or possessing the money, which he knew represented the proceeds of another person’s criminal conduct.

Mr Bettie, who is from London, was stopped at the ferry terminal in August 2017 as he was leaving after a weekend’s stay.

In a bag in his car was £153,200, which the prosecution alleges was the proceeds of crime.

Prosecution advocate Will Giles argued that its case was made out.

‘Why would an unemployed 65-year-old man from London be carrying a bag from Guernsey to England with such a vast sum in heat-sealed bags?’ he said.

In his police interviews, Mr Bettie said he came to Guernsey with £90,000, which was his life savings, and won the rest in poker matches locally during the two-day holiday.

More than half the £153,200 was in Channel Island notes.

Mr Bettie had not visited the island before.

In interview he said he had played poker with Channel Islanders in England and this explained the mix of notes.

Mr Bettie, who has had a stroke since being arrested, chose not to give evidence.

Advocate Green said the defence case was based on Mr Bettie’s interviews and several documents.

These included an excerpt from a book about Peter Grant, the late manager of Led Zeppelin.

In it Mr Bettie is quoted as remembering being at the Knebworth concert in 1979, which Led Zeppelin headlined, and being handed two bags – one with £200,000 in and one with a sawn-off shotgun – to look after for the band.

Advocate Green said this corroborated Mr Bettie’s police interview comments that he was used to carrying large amounts of money.

‘It’s unconventional behaviour, but it’s not uncorroborated behaviour,’ he said.

Advocate Giles argued that the book excerpt was in the context of the 1970s rock’n’roll lifestyle.

Advocate Green asked the court to note that his client had a clean record until this incident.

He characterised the prosecution case as ‘throwing mud’ at his client and then using innuendo to say that something dodgy must be going on.

He highlighted that the prosecution was trying to get the court to draw an ‘irresistible inference’ from the evidence.

But he said the evidence was circumstantial and there was enough reasonable doubt for the court to find his client not guilty.

The prosecution had previously stated that the money was heat-sealed to try and stop the Guernsey Border Agency dog smelling it, but Mr Bettie said it was to get the volume down for packing.

The case continues.