Three men have denied plotting a series of arson attacks on properties linked to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, with a court hearing that the plot was orchestrated by a Russian-speaking contact using the pseudonym “El Money.” Roman Lavrynovych, 22, Petro Pochynok, 35, both from Ukraine, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, a Romanian national, appeared at the Old Bailey on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC told the jury that three fires in the same area within five days last May were “beyond a coincidence.” The fires included a Toyota RAV4 once owned by Starmer, a property in Islington where he previously lived, and the Kentish Town home where he lived before moving to Downing Street and where his sister-in-law now resides.
Lavrynovych faces three counts of arson with intent to endanger life. Pochynok and Carpiuc are charged with conspiracy to commit arson. All three deny the charges. The court heard that Telegram messages between Lavrynovych and El Money showed he was recruited, instructed, and promised payment in cryptocurrency for the fires.
The prosecutor stated that CCTV footage showed Lavrynovych buying white spirit two days before the Toyota was set ablaze. The fires were allegedly set “in the dead of night, when the occupants would inevitably have been asleep,” said Atkinson. He added that setting fire to a front door blocked residents' escape, indicating intent to endanger life.
Jurors were told not to consider who El Money was or his motives. After the attacks, El Money urged Lavrynovych to leave London, sending messages that included a code word for legal assistance. The trial continues.
