OP 05 December, 2024 - 09:10 PM
Operation Destabilise
The NCA, with the assistance of international partners, has uncovered extensive Russian cryptocurrency money laundering networks linked to drug and arms trafficking, ransomware and espionage.
https://x.com/NCA_UK/status/1864333958294454736
At the center of the scheme are two Russian companies, Smart Group and TGR Group. According to authorities, they helped criminal groups exchange cryptocurrency for cash and transfer funds abroad - to more than 30 countries.
Among their clients, in addition to large crime syndicates like Kinahan, were Russian oligarchs and representatives of the elite seeking to circumvent sanctions. From late 2022 to the summer of 2023, Smart's network was used to finance espionage operations for Russia.
As a result of the operation, law enforcement officers arrested 84 people, many of whom are already serving prison sentences, and seized more than 20 million pounds sterling ($25.4 million) in cash and cryptocurrency.
![[Image: 857965431-785456345-87576235443.png]](https://i.ibb.co/n01cHT9/857965431-785456345-87576235443.png)
OFAC
has sanctioned five individuals and four entities associated with Smart and TGR: TGR Partners, TGR Corporate Concierge LTD, TGR DWC-LLC, and Siam Expert. The latter facilitated the export of electronic components to Russia.
Smart is headed by Ekaterina Zhdanova, who has been on the sanctions list since November 2023, and who worked closely with Hadji-Murat Magomedov and Nikita Krasnov.
TGR is led by George Rossi, his deputy Elena Chirkinyan, and Andrejs Bradens, also known as Andrejs Karenoks.
According to the NCA, many of the money laundering operations were carried out with the mediation of Zhdanova and Magomedov. Krasnov worked with courier networks in the UK, collecting cash for further exchange. At least 22 local criminal groups used these services.
One London courier, Fawad Saeedi, helped launder more than £15 million ($19.1 million). He was sentenced to four years and four months in prison.
Another courier network for illegal operations across Europe was led by Semyon Kuksov and Andrey Dzekta, coordinated by Krasnov. According to law enforcement, more than £12 million ($15.2 million) passed through them in two months.
Kuksov was sentenced to five years and seven months in prison, Dzekta to five years. A courier associated with them, Igor Logvinov, was arrested in Ireland and sentenced to three years.
Authorities allege that Elena Chirkinyan of TGR Group helped conceal an alleged transfer from Russia Today to its sanctioned Russian-language parent media organization in the UK in 2023.
According to the case materials, Zhdanova helped transfer more than £2 million ($2.54 million) to the UK for a Russian client in March 2022, which he used to anonymously buy real estate.
Zhdanova is also associated with the Ryuk ransomware group and transactions worth more than $2.3 million in their favor.
Smart and TGR cryptocurrency addresses regularly made transactions with the Garantex exchange, which has been under UK and US sanctions since 2022.
Recall that in March, Transparency International Russia reported that exchangers from Moscow City help cash out USDT in the UK.
Chainalisys analysts in a report from September 2024 claim that the latest crypto laws adopted by the Russian Federation are aimed at evading sanctions.
• Source: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2735
• Source: https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/n...84-arrests
The NCA, with the assistance of international partners, has uncovered extensive Russian cryptocurrency money laundering networks linked to drug and arms trafficking, ransomware and espionage.
https://x.com/NCA_UK/status/1864333958294454736
At the center of the scheme are two Russian companies, Smart Group and TGR Group. According to authorities, they helped criminal groups exchange cryptocurrency for cash and transfer funds abroad - to more than 30 countries.
Among their clients, in addition to large crime syndicates like Kinahan, were Russian oligarchs and representatives of the elite seeking to circumvent sanctions. From late 2022 to the summer of 2023, Smart's network was used to finance espionage operations for Russia.
As a result of the operation, law enforcement officers arrested 84 people, many of whom are already serving prison sentences, and seized more than 20 million pounds sterling ($25.4 million) in cash and cryptocurrency.
OFAC
has sanctioned five individuals and four entities associated with Smart and TGR: TGR Partners, TGR Corporate Concierge LTD, TGR DWC-LLC, and Siam Expert. The latter facilitated the export of electronic components to Russia.
Smart is headed by Ekaterina Zhdanova, who has been on the sanctions list since November 2023, and who worked closely with Hadji-Murat Magomedov and Nikita Krasnov.
TGR is led by George Rossi, his deputy Elena Chirkinyan, and Andrejs Bradens, also known as Andrejs Karenoks.
According to the NCA, many of the money laundering operations were carried out with the mediation of Zhdanova and Magomedov. Krasnov worked with courier networks in the UK, collecting cash for further exchange. At least 22 local criminal groups used these services.
One London courier, Fawad Saeedi, helped launder more than £15 million ($19.1 million). He was sentenced to four years and four months in prison.
Another courier network for illegal operations across Europe was led by Semyon Kuksov and Andrey Dzekta, coordinated by Krasnov. According to law enforcement, more than £12 million ($15.2 million) passed through them in two months.
Kuksov was sentenced to five years and seven months in prison, Dzekta to five years. A courier associated with them, Igor Logvinov, was arrested in Ireland and sentenced to three years.
Authorities allege that Elena Chirkinyan of TGR Group helped conceal an alleged transfer from Russia Today to its sanctioned Russian-language parent media organization in the UK in 2023.
According to the case materials, Zhdanova helped transfer more than £2 million ($2.54 million) to the UK for a Russian client in March 2022, which he used to anonymously buy real estate.
Zhdanova is also associated with the Ryuk ransomware group and transactions worth more than $2.3 million in their favor.
Smart and TGR cryptocurrency addresses regularly made transactions with the Garantex exchange, which has been under UK and US sanctions since 2022.
Recall that in March, Transparency International Russia reported that exchangers from Moscow City help cash out USDT in the UK.
Chainalisys analysts in a report from September 2024 claim that the latest crypto laws adopted by the Russian Federation are aimed at evading sanctions.
• Source: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2735
• Source: https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/n...84-arrests