A Bradford solicitor accused of conspiracy to nobble witnesses in a £300,000 fake Duracell drink fraud trial told a jury he never paid off anyone.

Solicitor Majed Iqbal, 32, admitted he flew to Dubai two months before a trial of three Bradford brothers, but said because of client legal privilege he could not describe the nature of the work he was doing there.

Iqbal, a qualified higher rights advocate with Petherbridge Bassara solicitors, has gone on trial with Yassar Hussain, 31, and Zameer Hussain, 25, accused of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by paying victims not to appear in court in England.

Five firms based in Dubai, Hong Kong, Hungary and Iran paid £312,000 for exclusive international rights for a new British–based Duracell energy drink that existed only in the form of dummy cans.

Hull Crown Court heard the companies where the victims of a carefully-planned international advanced-fee fraud based in Bradford where they paid for the Duracell drink which had never been authorised by the brand’s owner Procter & Gamble.

Bothers Yassar Hussain, 31, Zameer Hussain, of Aburnham Grove, Manningham, and cousin Pervez Iqbal, 38, of Dorothy Road, Tilsey, Birmingham, were accused of unveiling the fake drink at the World Trade Centre in Dubai in 2009. All three deny conspiracy to defraud the firms who never got the drink using the Duracell name. Taking the witness box in the now joint trial, Majed Iqbal, of Elisabeth Street, Nelson, explained he acted for Yassar Hussain after the Hussains were charged with fraud in September 2011. He admitted he had only just joined the firm after working for five years as a paralegal.

He told the jury client privilege meant he could not disclose details of a defendant’s discussions unless they consented. He said that meant many meetings, instructions and events were covered by privilege.

The prosecution claims Majed Iqbal, Yassar Hussain and Zameer Hussain went to Dubai on April 26 when two Dubai victims were bribed not to appear in court having gone on different flights but returning together.

Majed Iqbal confirmed he was in Dubai on April 25. He said: “I was there for litigation and it was in connection with this case. I met with Yassar Hussain. I flew back with him and Zameer. Unfortunately I cannot describe the nature of the litigation because of privilege.”

He said he “absolutely” did not meet Sonia Foods, the alleged Honk Kong victim.

He admitted he was arrested at Manchester Airport on May 28 when he returned from Dubai with Yassar Hussan and Zameer Hussain but said incriminating evidence found on a laptop and memory sticks in his hand luggage was passed to him at Dubai Airport. He refused to say who had given him it.

In answer to 12 questions from his own barrister he replied “I cannot say because of privilege.”

One of the memory sticks showed a video of Majed Iqbal in a meeting in a Dubai Hotel on May 18 with a representative of Pars Pircas, the Iranian victim. Majed Iqbal admitted he had called himself Ben and said he was working for consultants called ADI.

The solicitor said he could not explain why he was recorded, saying he wanted to reach a negotiated settlement.

Yassar Hussain, the man accused of masterminding the scam is not in court having left after the opening and not returned. The jury has been told his absence is not authorised and not to speculate why.

Giving his defence evidence from the witness box Zameer Hussain said he was not part of the Duracell drink fraud and was not involved in paying of witnesses in Dubai. He said he knew his brother Yassar Hussain was developing the drink, but he did not share everything with him. He said his father earned money as a Bradford Councillor, his bother Zakar ran a takeaway and Yassar was a businessman always looking for new money-making ideas.

He admitted he was a shareholder in an accident claims business, but never knew he had shares and never confronted his brother about it.

He said he knew nothing of the £300,000 which flowed into the false Duracell bank account but admitted his brother Yassar had a lavish lifestyle before the alleged fraud and ran an Audi R8.

Zameer Hussain admitted he went to bank to withdraw £30,000 on the weekend a witness was allegedly paid off in Dubai in May. He said: “I only went to Dubai for 36 hours. I was out partying and smoking Shisha.” He said the £30,000 was for paying a plumber for work on his home in Bradford.

The trial continues.