Poker Pro In $95.75 Million Money Laundering Scam

The Great British Bake Off is a British television competition designed to find the UK’s best amateur baker. This year a young grandmother named Jo Wheatley, 41, was crowned the winner but while she was honoured for her baking skills, it has come to light that her husband had a few culinary skills of his own after he was caught cooking the books in a £60 million ($95.75m) money-laundering racket.
Currently serving a 7 year jail sentence, husband Richard Wheatley, 44, is an international professional gambler known as ‘The Bear.’ Wheatley’s Twitter page indicates that gambling keeps him busy moving from one plush location to the next, with one entry stating:
“Short stay in The Carlton (Cannes) to prepare and the a week gambling in Monaco…Monte Carlo Bay Hotel, bien entendu.!”
It would also appear poker is one of The Bear’s activities of choice, having entered and cashed in at various tournaments on the poker circuit, including the European Poker Tour (EPT), Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) and Irish Winter Festival.
With $121,755 in live tournament winnings, Richard Wheatley’s biggest scores include a 3rd place finish at the 888.com UK Open in 2008 for $60,000, and victory the same year at the £500 GUKPT Grand Final, London, for £26,250 ($39,381).
However, it transpired Wheatley was also part of a gang who were responsible for laundering around £60m of suspected drug money through a cash exchange. He was eventually sentenced last year at Southwark Crown Court on April 20th, and his wife Jo Wheatley said she was honest with the cooking TV programme producer from the start. As a BBC spokeswoman explained:
“Joanne’s husband’s background bears no relevance to the programme…She is a talented baker and those talents have been recognised, as she was crowned the winner.”
The attitude of the BBC seems also to be reflected in the comments of some of her fans, with one writer stating:
“Well we can certainly see who ate all her pies,” and another commenting:
“Hope the guards check the contents of the cakes she bakes for him LOL.”