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Operation Destabilise, an international investigation spearheaded by the National Crime Agency (NCA), has uncovered and dismantled Russian money laundering networks that facilitated global organised crime, from the streets of the United Kingdom to the Middle East, Russia, and South America.

At the core of the criminal business, investigators have identified two networks—Smart and TGR—that speak Russian.

Sanctions against the Russian-speaking individuals running these networks and four companies associated with TGR were announced today by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), revealing Operation Destabilise.

Through their international partnerships, the NCA was able to apprehend a seventh individual—a worldwide money laundering facilitator with deep ties to one of the networks.

Not only did Smart and TGR facilitate criminals residing in the UK, but they also utilised their extensive global network to launder money for international crime families like the Kinahans. The United States government imposed sanctions on the infamous family-run criminal organisation in 2022 for its role in the international drug and weapon trade.

Additionally, they assisted Russian clients in circumventing financial limitations in order to invest in the UK, endangering our economy’s integrity. The Smart network was utilised to finance Russian espionage operations from the latter half of 2022 to the summer of 2023.

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© Facebook/Nca

Together, the NCA and the police have apprehended 84 suspects, many of whom are already serving jail terms, and recovered more than £20 million worth of cash and bitcoin.

The intricate operation that was revealed by Operation Destabilise involves networks that take in money in one country and then make that same amount available in another, usually by exchanging bitcoin for cash.

This serves a dual purpose: it facilitates the transfer of funds from Western criminal organisations, while also assisting Russian billionaires and elites in evading sanctions and laundering cryptocurrency for cybercriminals.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) collaborated closely with its UK law enforcement partners to carry out a number of operations connected to Destabilise in the United Kingdom, which played a pivotal role. The investigators saw massive transactions happening all around the nation, where people would transfer cash on the street and then almost instantly transfer bitcoin worth the same amount.

Russian businesswoman Ekaterina Zhdanova, currently in custody in France © NCA

When criminal groups get cryptocurrency as payment, they can reinvest it in their illegal operation, purchasing additional narcotics or guns without having to transfer physical money across borders. The financial support given to these groups allowed them to continue their violent actions, which in turn caused significant harm to communities all around the UK.

The head of Smart, Ekaterina Zhdanova, was heavily involved in the money-laundering operation alongside Nikita Krasnov and Khadzi-Murat Magomedov.

George Rossi, Elena Chirkinyan, and Andrejs Bradens (often spelt Andrejs Carenoks) are the leaders of TGR.

The US-based OFAC has now sanctioned all six.

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George Rossi & Elena Chirkinyan © NCA

Despite the fact that money was frequently sent via the Middle East, Smart and TGR’s connections to the Russian financial sector are particularly strong, and their combined worldwide reach reaches more than 30 nations.

In many cases, Zhdanova and Magomedov acted as middlemen in money laundering deals. In order to have the money changed, Krasnov would coordinate with UK courier networks to get it collected.

Members of the TGR group received substantial sums of money on behalf of Zhdanova and facilitated the exchange, making the corresponding value available in cryptocurrency, as a result of joint operations between TGR and Smart.

throughout a span of four months, one cash courier network that was under investigation made 55 separate cash handovers throughout the English, Scottish, Welsh, and Channel Island regions. At least 22 criminal organisations with ties to the UK were represented by them.

Over £15 million in illicit funds were laundered thanks to a London-based cash courier that was overseen by Zhdanova and Krasnov. Four years and four months in prison was handed down to courier Fawad Saiedi.

Semen Kuksov and Andrii Dzektsa oversaw cash couriers in the UK to gather illicit funds and transport the laundered money abroad. Over a span of 74 days, they facilitated the laundering of approximately 15 million euros © Nrf

Semen Kuksov and Andrii Dzektsa oversaw cash couriers in the UK to gather illicit funds and transport the laundered money abroad. Over a span of 74 days, they facilitated the laundering of approximately 15 million euros © Nrf

Along with Krasnov, Semen Kuksov and Andrii Dzektsa ran a vast cash courier network, according to another investigation. In just over two and a half months, they coordinated similar operations across Europe and had couriers launder almost twelve million pounds in the United Kingdom. Additionally, Kuksov has ties to cryptocurrency wallets with a high volume of transactions. He received a five-year prison term while Dzektsa received a five-year prison sentence. Igor Logvinov, a courier associated with Kuksov’s network, was apprehended by the Irish police force An Garda Siochana (AGS) and given a three-year prison term.

Rob Jones, Director General of Operations at the National Crime Agency, said:

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Rob Jones, Director General of Operations at the National Crime Agency © gov.uk

“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 Smart and TGR – was invisible until now.

“The NCA and partners have disrupted this criminal service at every level. We have identified and acted against the Russians pulling the strings at the very top, removing the air of legitimacy that enabled them to weave illicit funds into our economy.

“We also took out the key coordinators that enabled the cash-based element of their operation in the UK, making it extremely difficult for them to operate here and sending a clear message that this is not a safe haven for money laundering.”

Security Minister, Dan Jarvis said: 

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UK Security Minister, Dan Jarvis © Parliament.UK/Richard Townshend

“Illicit finance inflicts immense harm around the world and this major global operation marks a significant step against economic crime.

“Led by the National Crime Agency working with Border Force, Op Destabilise has exposed Russian kleptocrats, drug gangs and cyber criminals – all of whom relied on the flow of dirty money.

“The UK and its allies will continue to work together to crack down on illicit finance and the criminality it enables.”

The criminal networks got wind of the NCA-led operational operations in the UK. Members of the examined networks reportedly had doubts about operating in London in late 2022 and early 2023, and by late summer of 2024, Russian-speaking laundering networks in the capital were reportedly charging high commission rates and thought it was hard to work there.

This endeavour has proven to be remarkably expensive for the networks, which are estimated to function on exceedingly narrow profit margins—frequently imposing a mere 3% commission on the laundered sums. According to this figure, it would be necessary for them to launder approximately £700 million without cost in order to reimburse the £20 million confiscated by the NCA and its partners.

Smart and TGR offer a service that allows Russian elites, along with specified individuals and entities, to engage with Western economies that would typically be inaccessible due to sanctions or other financial limitations.

In the year 2023, xc, associated with the TGR Group, engaged in the clandestine transfer of funds from Russia, presumably to bolster the operations of a Russian-language media entity in the United Kingdom. The funds in question are purported to have their origins in Russia Today (RT), an entity whose ownership is currently subject to sanctions imposed by the UK.

In March 2022, Zhdanova collaborated with members of TGR to transfer more than £2 million into the UK for a Russian client, concealing the origin of the funds and circumventing ‘know your customer’ protocols to acquire properties.

Siam Expert Trading Company Ltd., a company located in Thailand and linked to Bradens, which was recently sanctioned by OFAC, played a role in the exportation of electronic components to Russia.

The networks additionally facilitate Russian cyber criminals in the laundering of their illicit gains. In 2021, Zhdanova engaged in the laundering of more than $2.3 million, which was believed to be ransoms paid in cryptocurrency by victims to the Ryuk ransomware group. The NCA evaluates that the group, whose members faced sanctions from the UK in 2023, was accountable for extorting a minimum of £27 million from 149 victims across the UK, encompassing hospitals, schools, businesses, and local authorities. Nonetheless, the actual influence they exert is probably significantly greater.

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Large amounts of cash seized by authorities © NCA

Smart and TGR’s cryptocurrency addresses exhibited consistent engagement with Garantex, the cryptocurrency exchange service that faced sanctions from both the UK and US in 2022. Garantex has been associated with financial transactions to firms supplying components for armaments utilised by Russia during its incursion into Ukraine.

Operation Destabilise has been executed in conjunction with UK law enforcement and a network of international partners, including OFAC, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the French Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire, and AGS in Ireland. The NCA collaborated extensively with authorities in the UAE to impede associated money laundering operations.

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