{"id":587130,"date":"2025-11-22T16:42:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T16:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/587130\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T16:42:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T16:42:23","slug":"how-crypto-helped-a-uk-crime-gang-move-massive-amount-of-cash-for-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/587130\/","title":{"rendered":"How Crypto Helped a UK Crime Gang Move Massive Amount of Cash for Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A billion-pound money-laundering network operating across 28 towns and cities in the UK has been converting proceeds from drug trafficking, firearms sales and organized crime into cryptocurrency, with some of those funds ultimately helping Russia sidestep sanctions and bankroll its war effort, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/buying-cocaine-on-a-friday-night-may-inadvertently-fund-russias-war-in-ukraine-britons-warned-13473429\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sky News<\/a> reported, citing National Crime Agency (NCA).<\/p>\n<p>The operation, uncovered through the NCA\u2019s long-running &#8220;Operation Destabilise,&#8221; has already led to 128 arrests and the seizure of more than \u00a325 million in cash and digital assets. Investigators say the network was so entrenched that it even acquired its own bank to streamline illicit payments linked to Russian interests.<\/p>\n<p>Couriers reportedly collected bags of \u201cdirty\u201d cash before it was rapidly moved into crypto markets. The NCA warned that these flows are not just fuelling UK criminal activity but also connecting directly to \u201cgeopolitical events causing suffering around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blockchain transparency<\/p>\n<p>Despite the common perception that digital assets offer anonymity, the NCA stressed that blockchain transparency is proving instrumental in mapping these criminal pipelines. <\/p>\n<p>Chainalysis&#8217; vice president, Madeleine Kennedy, told Sky News that public blockchains provide \u201ca poor vehicle for money laundering,\u201d enabling law enforcement to trace funds tied to drug trafficking, sanctions evasion and cybercrime.<\/p>\n<p>One alleged ringleader, Russian national Ekatarina Zhdanova, described by investigators as a key financial conduit for cybercriminals and Russian elites, is currently detained in France awaiting trial.<\/p>\n<p>UK security minister Dan Jarvis said the operation exposes how Russia relies on covert financial channels, including crypto-based laundering, to evade sanctions. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt will never be tolerated on our streets,\u201d Jarvis said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A billion-pound money-laundering network operating across 28 towns and cities in the UK has been converting proceeds from&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7655],"tags":[72106,332,16],"class_list":{"0":"post-587130","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-russia","8":"tag-crypto-crime","9":"tag-russia","10":"tag-uk"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115594352713545850","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}