Two men have been convicted of carrying out arson attacks on property linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, orchestrated by a mysterious Russian-speaking Telegram contact known as 'El Money'. The court heard that the mastermind sought to see the results of their crimes 'on the news'.
The Night of the Fire
Judith Alexander, Starmer's sister-in-law, was awake in bed at about 1am when she heard two loud bangs, initially thinking wheelie bins had been thrown at the door. Looking outside, she saw smoke and an orange glow. 'We could see the smoke was getting thicker and going upstairs,' she said in a statement read at the Old Bailey trial. 'The fact that [my daughter's] room was right above the fire and if I did not wake up, what might have happened.'
The incident was one of three arson attacks in May 2025 targeting properties linked to Starmer: a house in north London, a nearby property where he used to live, and a car that once belonged to the prime minister.
Convictions
On Monday, Roman Lavrynovych, a 22-year-old Ukrainian national, and Stanislav Carpiuc, a 27-year-old Romanian, were found guilty of conspiring to damage property. A co-defendant, Petro Pochynok, 35, was cleared. Lavrynovych was also convicted of damaging two properties by fire, reckless as to whether life was endangered on 11 and 12 May.
The Role of 'El Money'
Central to the case was a Russian-speaking Telegram contact using the pseudonym 'El Money', a translation of the Ukrainian word 'Hroshi'. El Money allegedly ordered the arson attacks and communicated with Lavrynovych from September 2024. James Scobie KC, representing Lavrynovych, told the court: 'There's one winner in this case. The anonymous devil who manipulated, used and won.' He added: 'What do we know about him? Nothing. Where's he from? Who might have an interest in trying to undermine this country, undermine this country's support of Ukraine? ... But Russia – let's call it out – Russia are interested in what this country does in support of Ukraine. This person, or people, spoke excellent Russian.'
The prosecution described El Money as 'seeking to destabilise our society', but the jury was told not to consider who El Money was or their motivations. The alleged Russian interest, while not proven in court, points to a broader pattern of sabotage and arson across Europe, as reported by European intelligence agencies.
Recruitment and Instructions
Telegram messages showed Lavrynovych was recruited through a London jobs group and instructed to set fires in exchange for cryptocurrency payments. Initially, he was asked to print and place ads described as 'something about Islam', which he refused. Later, he was paid £1,500 to check for CCTV at two addresses. Lavrynovych told police he needed the money and felt threatened by El Money, who knew where he lived with his grandmother.
On 8 May 2025, a Toyota RAV4 once owned by Starmer was set ablaze. Lavrynovych said El Money instructed him to 'finish the job' after an earlier attempt failed to make the news. 'That the car, this arson, would be broadcast on the news,' Lavrynovych explained. He added that El Money wanted to see the attacks on the news.
Further fires occurred on 11 May at a property Starmer had managed, and on 12 May at his former home where his sister-in-law lived. Lavrynovych claimed he was told no one would be there and did not intend to endanger lives.
During police interviews, Lavrynovych denied interest in British politics or grudges against Starmer, and described Putin as 'a terrorist'. Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism policing in London, said there was no evidence Russia was behind the attacks.
