A Romanian barman caught with Tamara Ecclestone’s stolen handbag and £1m in forged bank notes walked free from court today.
Emile-Bogdan Savastru, 31, was arrested at Heathrow with Louis Vuitton luggage grabbed during the £25m ‘Burglary of the Century at the socialite’s ‘Billionaire’s Row’ Kensington home.
Savastru also had Frank Lampard’s Tag Heuer smart watch which was taken in a raid on the Everton boss’s home by an Eastern European crime gang.
Savastru, along with his mother, sex worker Maria Mester, 47, security worker Sorin Marcovici, 53, and Alexandru Stan, 49, were last year cleared by a jury of being part of the support team to the three burglars behind the Ecclestone mansion raid.
Instead, he was convicted of having custody or control of a counterfeit note following a trial at Isleworth Crown Court last December.
Today, Savastru, of Stepney, was jailed for 11 months – but he was immediately released on licence because he has served the term on remand.
Romanian barman caught with Tamara Ecclestone’s stolen handbag also had a million pounds in forged money
He was convicted of having custody or control of a counterfeit note following a trial at Isleworth Crown Court last Decembe
Today, Savastru, of Stepney, was jailed for 11 months – but he was immediately released on licence because he has served the term on remand
Savastru, along with his mother, sex worker Maria Mester, 47 (pictured wearing Tamara Ecclestone’s necklace), security worker Sorin Marcovici, 53, and Alexandru Stan, 49, were cleared by a jury of being part of the support team to the three burglars behind the Ecclestone mansion raid
He hid the counterfeit cash at his friend Gergo Munzenrieder’s house in Mile End, east London before heading to the airport for a flight to Japan.
The fake money was worth 517,350 Euros and £518,350 and was packed in such a way that the word ‘facsimile’ was not visible when first examined.
A money counter machine and a UV lamp, which can be used to check if money is genuine, were also found in the flat.
Police also recovered a novelty gun that can be loaded up with bank notes to spray his friends with cash.
Savastru’s barrister Adam Kane said the gun was a popular accessory in Japanese strip clubs where Savastru had just returned from holiday.
In January 2021 he was jailed for six months for handling the bag and watch but walked free after spending almost a year inside while awaiting trial in relation to the Ecclestone raid.
Sentencing him for the fake money charge Judge Martin Edmunds QC told him: ‘The circumstances of your conviction were that in January 2020 you were planning to fly to Japan.
‘In your suitcase were notes the jury found to be counterfeit, within the meaning of the act.
‘There was a party gun, but none of these notes would fit in it. Whatever your personal intentions, I reject that these notes were for party purposes.
‘Someone had more in mind than just a party. Any distribution, whether at a party or not, would likely put them in circulation.
Savastru, 31, was arrested at Heathrow with Louis Vuitton luggage grabbed during the £25m ‘Burglary of the Century at the socialite’s ‘Billionaire’s Row’ Kensington home
Jugoslav Jovanovic, 24, carried out the Ecclestone heist with expert jewel thieves Alessandro Maltese, 45, known as the ‘Pink Panther’, and 44-year-old Alessandro Donati
‘They were patently not the most sophisticated copies, but they were reasonably capable of passing as genuine.’
Detective Constable Andrew Payne, who led the bogus money investigation, said: ‘Our proactive operation means we have been able to take a significant quantity of counterfeit notes out of circulation. Without a doubt, these notes would have been used to commit further crimes across the UK.
‘This successful prosecution relied heavily on the close working between the Met and the Bank of England, leaving little doubt that Savastru was guilty of these offences.
‘Counterfeit currency in the UK harms the economy and has a real, significant impact on businesses who take possession of it unknowingly. As this prosecution shows, we will take action against anyone engaged in this type of criminality.’
Jugoslav Jovanovic, 24, carried out the Ecclestone heist with expert jewel thieves Alessandro Maltese, 45, known as the ‘Pink Panther’, and 44-year-old Alessandro Donati.
They also raided the home of Aston Villa boss Lampard and his wife Christine, and a Knightsbridge property owned by the deceased Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
The burglars managed to get into a secure ‘vault’ in the Ecclestone home and emptied an entire jewellery cabinet of 450 items.
Last November Jovanovic was jailed for 11 years while Maltese and Donati were each sentenced to eight years and nine months in prison last November.
Savastru had told jurors he thought the stolen watch and bag were ‘tokens of appreciation’ left for him by the burglars
He said he googled ‘London burglaries’ a week after the raids because he was suspicious about the origin of the watch and Louis Vuitton bags.
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