There is nothing illegal about reselling tickets, says fraud trial QC

A JURY trying two men accused of fraudulently trading in tickets for a range of high-profile events has been told “there is nothing illegal about reselling tickets”.

Peter Hunter and David Smith – who traded as Ticket Wiz and BZZ – used multiple identities and computer bots to buy £4m worth of tickets over two-and-ahalf years, selling them on secondary ticketing websites for £10.8m, Leeds Crown Court has heard.

Yesterday, Ben Douglas-Jones QC, defending Hunter, said: “Some people may think the secondary ticket websites like SeatWave,

StubHub, Getmein and Viagogo and sellers are parasitic. Others may think the market functions because it puts people who own a commodity that they are willing to sell together with others who wish to purchase it at an agreed price.”

The barrister continued: “Parliament

has had the opportunity to remove the secondary ticket market. It has not done that. Noone has ever banned it.” The barrister said that, except for some very specific exceptions, “there is nothing illegal about reselling tickets”.

When the trial started last week, the jury was taken through a range of transactions for tickets for acts including Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Morrissey, Liam Gallagher and Green Day. Mr Douglas-Jones told the jury that just because Hunter and Smith breached the terms and conditions of the primary ticket sales websites, it did not mean they were guilty of crime.

He also stressed that not all resold tickets are traded at a profit. Hunter, 51, and Smith, 66, of Crossfield Road, north London, both deny fraudulent trading and possessing an article for fraud. The trial continues.