Vast Money Laundering Network Exposed Across Britain
The National Crime Agency has uncovered a sophisticated billion-dollar money laundering operation with direct links to funding Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. According to shocking revelations, this criminal enterprise purchased a bank specifically to facilitate payments supporting Moscow's war effort.
Investigators confirmed that launderers working for this network are actively operating in at least 28 UK cities and towns, where couriers collect physical cash and convert it into cryptocurrency. The scale of this operation demonstrates how organised crime has embedded itself within communities across the country.
Operation Destabilise: Connecting Street Crime to Geopolitics
The NCA's investigation, codenamed Operation Destabilise, has made significant progress in dismantling Russian money-laundering networks that support serious and organised crime worldwide. Since the operation's launch, authorities have made 128 arrests and seized over £25 million in cash and cryptocurrency within the UK alone.
Sal Melki, deputy director for economic crime at the NCA, emphasised the direct connection between local criminal activity and international conflicts. "Today we can reveal the sheer scale at which these networks operate and draw a line between crimes in our communities, sophisticated organised criminals and state-sponsored activity," he stated during a media briefing.
Mr Melki elaborated on this connection, explaining how ordinary drug purchases ultimately contribute to global suffering. "We could draw a really clear thread between somebody buying some cocaine on a Friday night, all the way through to geopolitical events that are causing suffering across the world."
Bank Purchase and Sanction Evasion
In one of the most alarming developments, investigators discovered that a company linked to one of the network's bosses purchased a 75% stake in Keremet Bank on Christmas Day 2024. This financial institution was subsequently sanctioned by both the UK and US governments after it was identified as facilitating cross-border payments for Russian state-owned Promsvyazbank.
Promsvyazbank has been directly involved in supporting companies within Russia's military industry, creating a direct pipeline from UK criminal activity to Vladimir Putin's war machine. The NCA emphasised that the individuals responsible for purchasing the bank and facilitating these payments are operating extensively within the UK.
The investigation has identified two primary networks working collaboratively: TGR and Smart. These organisations laundered money for transnational crime groups involved in cyber crime, drugs, and firearms smuggling. They were known to help Russian clients "illegally bypass" financial restrictions to invest money in the UK.
Smart was headed by 39-year-old Ekaterina Zhdanova, a Russian national from Siberia who built significant connections within Moscow's financial industry. TGR was led by Georgy Rossi, whose linked company Altair Holding SA was sanctioned by the UK government in August as part of a wider crackdown on Russia's attempts to exploit Kyrgyz financial systems and crypto networks.
Both networks have connections to the Irish Kinahan cartel and state-controlled TV network Russia Today. Senior members faced sanctions from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control in December, while Zhdanova is currently held in pre-trial detention in France.
Ongoing Threat and Government Response
Mr Melki warned that despite the operation's successes, the threat from these networks remains "significant". He confirmed that the NCA and its partners "will not stop" their efforts to disrupt these criminal enterprises.
"With over 120 arrests, we are making a difference and have significantly restricted these networks' ability to operate in the UK," he stated. "But there are other networks like them and it is imperative we continue to arrest, prosecute, seize and sanction, and deny these criminals access to the financial services they exploit."
Security Minister Dan Jarvis reinforced the government's commitment to tackling this threat, stating: "This complex operation has exposed the corrupt tactics Russia used to avoid sanctions and fund its illegal war in Ukraine. We are working tirelessly to detect, disrupt and prosecute anyone engaging in activity for a hostile foreign state. It will never be tolerated on our streets."
The NCA's investigation continues as authorities work to identify and dismantle additional money laundering operations with connections to hostile state activity and organised crime.
