Everything we know about the Russian money-laundering gang operating in UK
A multibillion-pound money-laundering operation run by two Russian millionaires, including one who helped fund Kremlin espionage schemes, has been brought down in an international sting.
As well as UK-based gangs, the network is believed to have helped Russian clients to avoid international sanctions to use the illicit funds to buy property, cyrptocurrency, firearms and drugs.
Up to 70 arrests were made in Britain as part of the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) Operation Destabilise, the biggest money-laundering case for a decade, while a further £20m has been seized.
The Russian state used the secretive network to get money to spies based in other countries, and it is also claimed the network was used to move funds from the state-controlled TV network Russian Today to journalists based in the UK.
The notorious Irish cartel the Kinahans are also accused of using the system, run by two networks called Smart and TGR, to get cryptocurrency in return for cash.
The system allowed gangs to collect funds in one country and make the equivalent value available in another, often by swapping cryptocurrency for cash.
Smart was run by Ekaterina Zhdanova, a Russian national said to have been born in Siberia before making it in the financial industry and building up connections in Moscow.
Zhdanova was arrested in France and had already been sanctioned by the US last year.
Georgy Rossi, whose current whereabouts are unknown, was the boss of TGR – and also came from a background in Russian banking before relocating to Europe.
They are both believed to have made millions of pounds from money laundering, charging around three per cent for transactions involving billions.
Rob Jones, NCA director general of operations, said: “For the first time, we have been able to map out a link between Russian elites, crypto-rich cyber criminals, and drugs gangs on the streets of the UK.
“The thread that tied them together – the combined force of Smart and TGR – was invisible until now.”
Provider: National Crime Agency/PA Wire
The scheme was first discovered with the arrest of Fawad Saiedi in London in November 2021, who was found with more than £250,000 in cash.
He was later jailed for possessing and transferring criminal property, and was thought to have been involved in laundering more than £15 million, under the instructions of Zhdanova and her associate Nikita Krasnov.
Other parts of the network that were exposed included cash couriers in the UK run by two men called Semen Kuksov and Andrii Dzektsa, who between July 2022 and September 2023 oversaw the laundering of £12.3m in 74 days.
Smart’s customers are alleged to have included a Russian ransomware group that was responsible for attempting to extort at least £27m from 149 UK victims including hospitals, schools, businesses and local authorities.
The system meant drug dealers in the UK swapped dirty money for cryptocurrency they could use to buy drugs from South American cartels, while Russian cybercriminals were able to buy assets such as properties abroad.
Other parts of the network that were exposed included cash couriers in the UK run by two men called Semen Kuksov and Andrii Dzektsa, who between July 2022 and September 2023 oversaw the laundering of £12.3 million in 74 days.
One courier linked to Kuksov’s network, Igor Logvinov, was arrested by An Garda Siochana in Ireland and later jailed for three years.
In Jersey in October 2021, an investigation found that Muhiddin Umurzokov, Anvarjon Eshonkulov and Batsukh Bataa had tried to launder £60,000 on the island.
They were found to be housing illegal migrants in sub-let homes that were paid for with the proceeds of drug dealing and prostitution, and were all jailed.
In Jersey in October 2021, an investigation found that Muhiddin Umurzokov, Anvarjon Eshonkulov and Batsukh Bataa had tried to launder £60,000 on the island.
Two other cases saw money smugglers stopped at the border in Kent – Ukrainian nationals Taras Hirnyak and Andrii Trachuk who were found with £1 million in cash in washing powder boxes in May last year at the Channel Tunnel, and Ruslan Kaziuk who was stopped at Dover in March 2023 with taped up packages of cash.
Another courier, Andrejs Jasins, was stopped at Frankley Services on the southbound M5 near Birmingham in March 2023 and was found with £400,000 hidden under the passenger seat of his van.
Security Minister, Dan Jarvis said: “Illicit finance inflicts immense harm around the world and this major global operation marks a significant step against economic crime.
“Led by the National Crime Agency working with Border Force, Op Destabilise has exposed Russian kleptocrats, drug gangs and cyber criminals – all of whom relied on the flow of dirty money.
“The UK and its allies will continue to work together to crack down on illicit finance and the criminality it enables.”
Additional reporting from the Press Association.
