Ex-Hearts and Hibs striker jailed for laundering nearly £400,000 in criminal cash
A former Hearts and Hibs footballer has been jailed after attempting to launder almost £400,000 in criminal cash.
James Keatings, 33, from Wishaw, was sentenced to 13 months in prison at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Friday. He had previously pled guilty to possessing and transferring criminal property.
Investigators from the Organised Crime Partnership (OCP) - a joint unit of the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Police Scotland - began watching Keatings last June.
On 28 June 2024, officers saw him remove two boxes from the back of his white transit van and place them into another vehicle before driving away.
The second van was stopped a short time later, where officers discovered two boxes in the rear containing 78 bundles of banknotes totalling £390,040.
A forensic examination linked Keatings directly to the cash, with his fingerprints found on the money, the boxes, and even the elastic bands holding the bundles together.
Keatings, who left Hearts to join Edinburgh rivals Hibs in 2015 and went on to make 52 appearances at Easter Road, was arrested and later admitted his involvement.
Speaking after the sentencing, Ian Thomas, NCA Regional Head of Investigations, said: “James Keatings moved hundreds of thousands of pounds in suspected criminal funds but what he didn’t know was OCP officers were watching his every move. The NCA will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to bring offenders like Keatings to justice and disrupt offenders and their criminality, wherever there is an opportunity to do so.”
Detective Chief Inspector Laura Sands, from Police Scotland’s Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit, added: “This investigation underlines our commitment to the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce and the country’s Serious Organised Crime Strategy. We will continue to work with our partner agencies to tackle this type of criminal activity and ensure those responsible face justice.”
She urged the public to play their part, saying: “Information and support from the public is vital to our work and I would encourage anyone with information relating to organised crime to contact us through 101.”