Former Celtic youth player jailed after £390,040 cash haul tied to money-laundering plot

A former Celtic youth player has been jailed for 13 months in Scotland after being found transporting almost £390,000 in cash as part of a suspected money-laundering operation. James Keatings, 33, who later built his career with Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian, did not make a senior appearance for Celtic before injuries and retirement in 2023.

Keatings was arrested on June 28, 2024, after investigators received a tip about large sums of cash moving. The Organised Crime Partnership watched him move two boxes from the back of a white transit van into the back of another vehicle before driving away. Stop-and-search officers then uncovered 78 bundles of notes totalling £390,040, which had been stashed in the boxes Keatings had placed. Forensic examinations found Keatings’ fingerprints on the money, the boxes and the elastic bands used to bind the notes.

Keatings appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court on August 20 and pleaded guilty to possessing and transferring criminal property. He was sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment at the same court.

Ian Thomas, National Crime Agency 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 of the Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit added that the investigation underscores the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce and Strategy. 'We will continue to work with our partner agencies to tackle this type of criminal activity and ensure those responsible face justice. 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.'

Keatings broke through Celtic’s youth ranks in 2010 but never made a senior appearance for the Glasgow club. He later featured for St Johnstone on loan and spent time with Hearts and Hibernian, as well as Dundee United, before injuries derailed his career. He moved into lower-league football from 2019 and retired in 2023, later taking up work as a plasterer.