The National Crime Agency (NCA) has made significant strides in combating serious and organised crime with the identification and arrest of operatives behind a billion-dollar Russian money-laundering network. This extensive operation, led by the NCA and involving international partners such as America's Federal Bureau of Investigation, France's Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire, and Ireland's Garda, has exposed the hidden workings of these criminal networks.

Unraveling the Web of Russian Money Laundering

Exposing the Link between Russian Elites and Crime Syndicates

The NCA's director general of operations, Rob Jones, highlighted the significance of this operation. "Operation Destabilise has exposed billion-dollar money laundering networks operating in a way previously unknown to international law enforcement or regulators. For the first time, we have been able to map out a link between Russian elites, crypto-rich cyber criminals, and drugs gangs on the streets of the UK. The thread that tied them together – the combined force of [alleged money laundering groups] Smart and TGR – was invisible until now."

Ekaterina Zhdanova, sanctioned last year by OFAC for allegedly helping ransomware groups receive and launder illicit funds, was identified as the head of Smart. She worked alongside George Rossi, the TGR boss whose location remains unknown to the international law enforcement coalition. Rossi's second-in-command is Elena Chirkinyan.

The NCA outlined how Smart and TGR laundered cash for transnational crime groups like the Kinahans. The Kinahans, a family-run crime syndicate responsible for trafficking drugs and firearms into the UK and internationally, were sanctioned by the US in 2022. From late 2022 to summer 2023, the Smart network was used to fund unspecified Russian espionage operations, while also helping Russian clients avoid UK sanctions.

Uncovering Connections to Russia Today and Illicit Funds

Investigators also uncovered connections to funds being moved into the UK that originated from the Russia Today (RT) television network. RT's owner is sanctioned in the UK. The money-laundering scheme worked by passing funds through a sequence of layers. Russian criminals would exchange millions in cryptocurrencies, made from ransomware attacks, for cash derived from various illicit transactions in western economies, including UK drug deals. This gave them hard currency that could be laundered and the value returned to them. It also provided western crime bosses with millions in cryptocurrency, allowing them to bypass the international banking system and buy large consignments of drugs from South America.

The NCA added that TGR and Smart coordinated their activity. Members of the TGR group received large volumes of cash on behalf of Zhdanova and facilitated the conversion, making the equivalent value available in cryptocurrency. One cash courier network investigated conducted cash handovers in 55 different locations across England, Scotland, Wales, and the Channel Islands over a four-month period on behalf of at least 22 suspected criminal groups operating in the UK.

When asked if the actions would close the network or if key money launderers would simply be replaced, the NCA's Jones said, "Of course, there is always somebody in the wings. We really understand this system now. As people fill this void we'll get after them."