A man has gone on trial accused of laundering money in Aberdeen.
Steven Carle is alleged to have concealed or removed almost £37,000 in cash over a three day period after it was illicitly obtained through fraud.
The 43-year-old denies the charge and claims he did not know, nor did he have a reasonable belief, that the cash was a product of criminal activity.
During the first day of the trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday jurors were read out a joint minute of agreement which outlined the whole of the Crown case.
The court heard that between March 9 and 12, 2012 Maurice Smith, Gool Jockoo, David Robinson and Caroline Walsh made a number of deposits totalling £36,672.34 into a business account belonging to Carle.
Fiscal depute Elaine Ward said that they did so in the belief that they would be receiving shares in one of two companies in exchange for the cash.
None of the complainers received anything after their money was handed over.
Mrs Ward said that all four of them had reported receiving phone calls from either a man called Richard Goodwin or James Cater in the days prior to them handing the cash over.
She said these men had informed the complainers that they would be able to receive shares in either Jones Capital or Wellington Management Portfolio in exchange for the money.
As a result, Mr Smith paid £22,075.34 into a Barclays Bank business account owned and operated solely by Carle, Mrs Ward said.
Mr Jockoo paid £1,995 into the account while Mr Robinson paid £5,005. Ms Walsh also handed over £7,597 by electronic bank transfer.
Mrs Ward said that it was accepted by the prosecution that there was no evidence to suggest that Carle, who did not know any of the complainers, had been directly involved in the fraud.
However, she said that in the days following the deposits Carle made a number of withdrawals, totalling £26,100, from his account.
The court heard that until March 9, 2012 there had been no credits or debits made to the account Carle opened in September the previous year.
After money started entering his account Carle was then captured on CCTV making large withdraws from the bank on Union Street over a period of five days.
A number of withdrawals were also made from ATM machines across Aberdeen during the same period.
The trial, before Sheriff Graeme Napier, has been adjourned until tomorrow when Carle, of 3 Victoria Road, Broughty Ferry, is expected to give evidence.