Multi-billion pound Russian money laundering network exposed in international sting
Arrest of driver on M1 with £250,000 in cash leads to downfall of system run by millionaires
A driver who was stopped on the M1 with more than £250,000 in cash led to the downfall of a multi-billion Russian money laundering system, police have revealed.
Two multi-billion pound networks, which helped launder criminal cash obtained by Russian hackers through Britain via drug gangs, have been exposed in an international sting.
Run by two Russian millionaires whose organisations have connections with Moscow’s bullet-resistant glass-clad Federation Tower, the network has been used by hackers to free up cash and assets.
The system also helped fund Russian spies in other countries, as well as assisting individuals and organisations seeking to bypass sanctions imposed following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
A National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into the international laundromat was driven by a probe into the Russian ransomware group Ryuk, which is thought to have extorted at least £27 million from 149 UK victims including hospitals, schools, businesses and local authorities.
But the true scale of the international operation was revealed by the arrest of courier Fawad Saiedi, who was stopped by the Metropolitan Police while driving southbound on the M1 towards London in November 2021.
An initial search of the vehicle revealed that Saiedi was transporting more than £250,000 in cash and a further £24,500 was seized at his home, along with a cash counting machine.
However, further investigations suggested Saiedi had transferred £15,667,720 as part of his role as a courier and collector – a figure the defendant did not contest.
Video footage released by the Metropolitan Police shows Saiedi being questioned by officers in the backseat of a car while wearing handcuffs.
Fawad Saeidi was stopped on the M1 with more than £250,000 in cash
A vehicle search found more than £250,000 and a further £24,500 was found at Saiedi’s home
Saiedi, who was sentenced to four years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to possessing and transferring criminal property in May 2022, was found to have been under the directions of Nikita Krasnov and Eketarina Zhdanova.
Zhdanova, a glamorous woman who has graced the front covers of Russian business magazines, is the head of the SMART network and worked closely with Krasnov to facilitate her money-laundering activities.
Eketarina Zhdanova has starred on the covers of Russian business magazines
Articles suggested Zhdanova was brought up in Serbia before moving to Moscow and making it in the finance industry.
Meanwhile, George Rossi is the head of a second network, the TGR Group – an illicit operation underpinned by Elena Chirkinyan, his second-in-command.
Evidence suggests that Rossi may have been a Russian banker who temporarily moved to Europe before going on to operate his scheme.
George Rossi, right, the head of the illicit TGR Group operation, with Elena Chirkinyan, his second-in-command
Together, SMART and the TGR Group operate in about 30 countries across the globe. The Russian state uses the networks to fund espionage operations, while they also help sanctioned individuals get cash into other countries.
Sal Melki, the head of illicit finance at the NCA, which led the sting dubbed “Operation Destabilise”, said Zhdanova was “not your typical” organised crime boss but someone who “presents herself as a legitimate business person”.
Mr Melki described both Zhdanova and Rossi as “interesting characters in their own right”.
The networks operated by collecting funds in one jurisdiction and realising their value without using the global banking system. This often involves swapping cryptocurrency for cash.
Eketarina Zhdanova and George Rossi have been described as ‘interesting characters’
For example, the network could connect a Russian cybercrime group with $1 million equivalent of cryptocurrency made through a ransomware attack, to a UK drugs gang with the same value of cash.
The network would arrange for the gang to be paid in cryptocurrency in exchange for the cash, which would then be laundered out of the country through cash-rich businesses such as construction companies and a series of international business accounts.
Once the cash was cleaned, the network would ensure its value was transferred back to the original client, potentially as physical money or as other assets such as shares.
The Russian networks ‘clean’ money by running it through cash-rich businesses such as construction companies
However, some sanctioned individuals are thought to use the system to invest in UK property and high goods instead, with the networks ensuring the original source of the funds are masked.
The networks operate across Russia, the Middle East and large parts of the West.
In October 2021, three suspects were arrested after attempting to launder about £60,000 in used Jersey bank notes in Jersey.
Evidence from seized mobile phones, documentation, receipts and lists later revealed their involvement in sub-letting UK properties paid for in cash from drug trafficking or prostitution.
Gangs in the system use their newly required cryptocurrency to buy drugs and firearms, often from South American countries.
Mobile phones, documentation, and receipts were all seized as evidence
Money hidden inside washing powder boxes
From late 2022 to summer 2023, the Russian state used the SMART network to fund Russian espionage operations.
It is also alleged that the TGR Group was involved in transferring funds from the state-controlled TV network RT, formerly Russia today, to Russian-speaking journalists based in the UK.
So far at least 84 people have been arrested as a result of the NCA-coordinated investigations into the networks, with at least 70 taking place in the UK and £20 million seized so far.
However, with Saiedi thought to have transferred at least £15 million, the true sum of money involved is thought to be far larger.
Several individuals have been sanctioned, arrested – or hit with both penalties – as a result.
Zhdanova was sanctioned by the US last year and is currently in custody in France. Rossi’s whereabouts are currently unknown.
Zhdanova is currently in custody in France
However, there are concerns those caught by authorities could be replaced by others connected or within the networks.
Rob Jones, the director of general operations at the NCA, said: “Operation Destabilise is the most significant money laundering operation that the NCA has undertaken in 10 years. It targets, attacked and significantly undermined a laundromat that brings together upscale street cash and cryptocurrency that allows the unprecedented transfer of value internationally between crime groups.”
He added: “Pretty much everything bad you can find in terms of organised crime has been supported by this platform.”
Dan Jarvis, the security minister, said: “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.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/12/04/russian-money-laundering-network-downfall/