The United Kingdom has taken a strong stance against money laundering, with the National Crime Agency (NCA) recently unveiling Operation Destabilise. This operation aimed to expose two major Russian criminal networks, Smart and TGR, who were involved in laundering funds for transnational crime groups and Russian clients.
The NCA revealed that these networks facilitated money laundering for criminal groups like the Kinahan Cartel and helped Russian entities, including the sanctioned Russia Today media company, to circumvent UK financial restrictions. They also assisted Russian cybercriminals, such as the Ryuk group, in laundering millions of dollars in ransom payments.
The core of the operation focused on unraveling a complex scheme where TGR and Smart would collect funds in one country through physical cash transfers and then make the equivalent value available in another country, often in cryptocurrency. This streamlined the movement of cash generated by crime groups in the West, laundered crypto for cybercriminals, and helped Russian elites bypass sanctions.
The UK was identified as a key hub for this illicit activity, although the networks operated in 30 countries and often routed funds through the Middle East. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also imposed sanctions on the leaders of the two networks and four businesses linked to TGR in conjunction with the NCA’s revelations.
Several investigations conducted as part of Operation Destabilise led to arrests and jail time for individuals involved in the money laundering networks. Cash courier networks operating in the UK were dismantled, with individuals like Fawad Saiedi and Semen Kuksov being sentenced to prison for their roles in laundering criminal cash.
In total, the NCA has made 84 arrests and seized £20 million in cash and cryptocurrency as part of Operation Destabilise. Despite the ringleaders of the networks still being at large, the NCA believes that the operation has significantly disrupted Smart and TGR’s operations. The low profit margins of these networks make it challenging for them to recover the seized funds, signaling that the UK is not a safe haven for money laundering.
Director General of Operations at the NCA, Rob Jones, emphasized the agency’s success in dismantling these criminal networks and sending a clear message that money laundering will not be tolerated in the UK. While the networks may continue their activities, the NCA’s efforts have dealt a significant blow to their operations.