The National Crime Agency (NCA) has identified an indirect financial connection between certain criminal activities in the United Kingdom and Russian arms manufacturers. The agency warns that the purchase of illicit drugs in Britain can contribute to this financial flow.
Money Laundering Network Identified
The NCA's investigation, dubbed Operation Destabilise, targets a Russian-led money-laundering network operating within the UK. Sal Melki, the NCA's Deputy Director for Economic Crime, characterized this network as a large criminal system that finances various illegal activities globally. The NCA is working to disrupt this network, including public warnings to cash couriers about potential lengthy prison sentences.
In 2023, the NCA identified two networks, TGR and Smart, which collaborated to process cash for drug gangs, illegal firearms suppliers, and human traffickers. Investigators subsequently discovered that George Rossi, identified as the head of TGR, acquired a bank in Kyrgyzstan.
Link to Russian Military Funding
Rossi purchased the bank, Keremet Bank, through his company Altair Holding SA, acquiring a 75% stake on December 25, 2024. Further investigation indicated that Keremet Bank facilitated payments for Promsvyazbank (PSB), a Russian state-owned bank. The US Treasury has designated PSB as a "sanctions evasion hub." The NCA states that Keremet Bank assisted PSB in processing payments for "Russia's military-industrial base," thereby supporting the production of weapons for the conflict in Ukraine.
The TGR and Smart networks are reported to provide comprehensive money-laundering services, converting criminal cash into cryptocurrency for individuals involved in drug dealing and illegal firearms. These operations have been detected in at least 28 locations across the UK.
Scale of Operations and Associated Risks
Sal Melki highlighted the significant scale of this threat, noting a connection between street-level criminal activities in the UK and broader geopolitical events. He emphasized that the laundering of street cash is critical to sustaining serious crime within the country.
The investigation also revealed that the Smart network, led by Ekaterina Zhdanova (currently in custody in France), provided financial services to a spy ring headed by Bulgarian national Orlin Roussev, which allegedly monitored Russian adversaries in Europe.
Operation Destabilise, which initially focused on the ransomware group Evil Corp, uncovered extensive money-laundering activities. Smart and TGR reportedly processed billions of pounds in criminal funds. Money was laundered through cash-intensive businesses, such as construction, or smuggled out of the country in various containers, including boxes of washing powder and baby formula.
Individuals associated with these groups include former footballer James Keatings, and Semen Kuksov and Andrii Dzektsa, who the NCA states laundered money for the Kinahan drug cartel. Valeriy Popovych and Vitaliy Lutsak were convicted in 2024 for purchasing vehicles in the UK and selling them in Ukraine for cryptocurrency, reportedly laundering £6.63 million between August 2022 and June 2023.
Couriers involved in transporting criminal cash typically receive a commission of approximately 0.5% but face potential prison sentences of five years or more. The NCA has placed public warning advertisements in both Russian and English at UK motorway service stations to deter such involvement.