128 people arrested, $32.6 million in virtual currency and cash seized in UK operation to evade Russian sanctions

A UK-led operation targeting Russian sanctions evasion has now resulted in 128 people being arrested and $32.6 million in cryptocurrencies and cash seized, according to the latest information from the National Crime Agency.

The “destabilization operation”, first announced in 2024, had arrested 84 people and seized $25.5 million as of December last year, and the latest information from the NCA reveals that a further 45 money laundering suspects have been arrested and more than $6.6 million in cash has been seized.

It also provided a complete picture of Russia-linked money laundering networks operating in the UK, finding that money launderers were active in at least 28 British towns and cities.

The alleged couriers collect illegal cash earned through drug and firearm sales or human trafficking, convert it into cryptocurrency, and use the proceeds to fund organized crime and even Russian military equipment in Ukraine.

The operation also revealed further information about Smart and TGR, two separate networks that have been collaborating in laundering money for international criminal organizations and helping Russian individuals avoid sanctions and invest money in the UK.

In particular, the NCA found that George Rossi, the head of TGR, had ties to the sanctioned Luxembourg-based company Altair Holding SA, which bought a 75% stake in the Kyrgyz bank Kelemet on Christmas Day 2024.

The investigation revealed that Kelemet was enabling cross-border payments on behalf of Russia’s state-owned Promsvyazbank. Promsvyazbank provided loans to Russian military suppliers.

Promsvyazbank is also one of the entities behind the ruble-pegged financial institution A7A5. stable coin This is used to evade sanctions, and total trading volume exceeded $40 billion in July this year.

Impact of Operation Destabilization

The NCA’s latest update highlights the scale and scope of UK-based money laundering, while concluding that Operation Destabilize has had an impact on UK-based money laundering.

The statement concludes that Russian-linked networks are “believed to have reservations about operating in London” and that the ability of such networks to access formal banking services in Western Europe is “significantly restricted.”

However, AMLBot CEO Slava Demchuk says it may be difficult to assess this impact independently. decryption It said it was unable to confirm any measurable reduction in Russia-related laundering in London or other parts of the UK at this time.

“Private companies rely primarily on open data, and without information held by law enforcement, there are no obvious changes in cryptocurrency-related activity that we can observe that are directly related to Operation Distabilize,” he said. “This likely reflects the fact that without additional sensitive information, only a small portion of the transactions would have been visible.”

Other blockchain intelligence companies agree that the decline in laundering in London may be difficult to quantify, but suggest that a decline in sanctions evasion more generally is detectable.

“While our data does support the idea that destabilization and other operations by UK authorities are increasing friction and risk for parts of the Russia-linked laundering ecosystem, it is difficult to clearly translate that into ‘less laundering in London,’” said Ari Redboard, vice president, global head of policy and government at TRM Labs.

talk to decryptionRedboard said service level data provides some indication of a decline in activity.

“Following concerted action by the NCA, OFAC, and other partners, there was a rapid and immediate decline in activity on exchanges and OTC platforms tied to Russian money laundering networks,” he explained. “Across three major platforms – NetEx24, Bitpapa, and Cryptex – we saw on average more than an 80% drop in inflows in the three months post-designation compared to pre-designation.”

Redboard suggests a similar pattern can be observed with Galantex and Vitzrat, both of which have seen significant sales declines following sanctions by US, UK and EU authorities.

there is no easy solution

But the case of Garantex, which appears to have rebranded to Grinex, highlights how stopping laundering in one region or one source can trigger relocation elsewhere.

“What we don’t see is that the whole Russia-related money laundering thing has been neatly broken down over a long period of time,” Redboard explained. “Rather than disappearing entirely, flows tend to be rerouted to other high-risk exchanges, OTC brokers, and alternative railroads, and the blockchain data is not detailed enough to say, ‘Was this dollar laundered in London or elsewhere?’”

Therefore, while destabilization operations may have limited laundering in London and other major UK cities, the laundering and transnational reach of Russian criminal networks means that other centers may emerge.

The groups exposed in Operation Destabilize, including Smart and TGR, “operate in Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of Asia, using a combination of cash couriers, cryptocurrency OTCs, payment processors, and shell companies,” Demchak said.

Demchuk said Russia-linked money laundering is “deeply entrenched” in more than 30 countries, creating a “global ecosystem” in which billions of people move across borders to launder dirty cash and evade international sanctions.