Three men have gone on trial accused of plotting arson attacks on properties linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, orchestrated by a Russian-speaking contact using the pseudonym 'El Money', a court has heard.
Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Petro Pochynok, 35, both from Ukraine, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, a Romanian national, deny charges including arson with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to commit arson. The attacks occurred over five days in May last year, targeting a car and two homes connected to Starmer in north London.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC told the Old Bailey that the three fires were 'beyond a coincidence' and that the defendants were promised payment in cryptocurrency by El Money, a name translated from the Ukrainian word for 'money'. Evidence included Telegram messages and CCTV footage of Lavrynovych buying white spirit.
One fire destroyed a Toyota RAV4 once owned by Starmer, while others targeted the front door of a property he had managed and the home where he lived before moving to Downing Street, where his sister-in-law was residing. Atkinson argued the attacks were carried out 'in the dead of night' when occupants would be asleep, endangering their lives.
The court heard that after the attacks, El Money instructed Lavrynovych to leave London, saying: 'You attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain.' The trial continues.
