Authorities arrested 84 Russians and seized £20 million in cash and crypto to break up a laundering network.
US and European authorities participated in the NCA-led operation. The operation led to 84 arrests and the confiscation of ~$25.4 million in cash and cryptocurrency.
The crypto laundering network relied on Moscow exchanges Smart Group and TGR Group. These platforms enabled drug trafficking and espionage funding by turning illegal dollars into untraceable digital assets. Even state activities utilized these trades to avoid international penalties, authorities said.
“We found a connection between Russian elites, crypto-rich computer crooks, and UK drug gangs for the first time. Rob Jones, Director General of Operations at the National Crime Agency,” said the shared force of Smart and TGR was unseen until recently.
French authorities detained Smart Group CEO Ekaterina Zhdanova, but TGR Group CEO George Rossi remained at large. The US Treasury Department sanctioned them for encouraging sanctions evasion and money laundering. The network used bitcoin anonymity to hide criminal payments in over 30 nations.
They also worked with Semen Kuksov and Andrii Dzektsa’s cash courier network, according to another inquiry. Their couriers processed over £12 million (~$15.26 million) in the UK in 2.5 months and comparable activities throughout Europe.
Kuksov, who was associated with high-turnover cryptocurrency accounts, and Dzektsa were sentenced to five and a half years and five years in prison, respectively. Ireland imprisoned courier Igor Logvinov for three years.
Since the crackdown, these networks have suffered financially. As London became harder to deal in, Russian-speaking laundering organizations demanded exorbitant commissions by mid-2024.
Nik Adams, T/Assistant Commissioner of City of London Police and NPCC lead for economic crime, said Operation Destabilise disrupted networks that moved vast sums of money linked to the drugs trade and serious violence on our streets from within our communities.
However, this scenario is not unique. The US Justice Department accused Russians Sergey Ivanov and Timur Shakhmametov of laundering $1 billion via illegal cryptocurrency networks in September. The trades facilitated criminals and permitted sanctioned companies to skirt constraints. The US Treasury sanctioned the TGR Group for helping Russian elites on December 4.
FATF recommends tighter virtual asset monitoring. Updated suggestions advocate regulating virtual asset providers to fight financial fraud. The NCA’s result shows rising international cooperation against crypto-enabled money laundering.
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