UK authorities dismantle a vast criminal network converting illicit cash into cryptocurrency, with funds allegedly aiding Russian sanction evasion and military operations.
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has arrested 128 people and seized over £25 million in cash and digital assets in its ongoing Operation Destabilise. The billion-pound money-laundering network spanned 28 UK towns and cities, moving drug trafficking and organized crime proceeds into cryptocurrency. Investigators allege some funds supported Russian sanction evasion and military activities, with the group’s infrastructure including its own bank. Blockchain analytics traced illicit flows, with Chainalysis stating public blockchains are a poor vehicle for laundering. Russian national Ekatarina Zhdanova, accused of facilitating cybercrime and evasion for Russian elites, is detained in France awaiting trial.