The NCA has revealed that a large money laundering network based in the UK has purchased a bank in Kyrgyzstan to support Russian war efforts.
Operation Destabilise, involving the NCA and its partners, is targeting these launderers operating in at least 28 UK cities and towns.
Uncovering the Laundering Network
The NCA has discovered that for a fee, money launderers collect illegal cash from various crimes and convert it into clean cryptocurrency. This process of converting cash to crypto is central to an international criminal network covering offenses in UK communities, sanctions evasion, and high levels of organized crime, including services for the Russian state.
Through cooperation with partners, the NCA has arrested 45 additional suspected money launderers and seized over GBP 5.1 million in cash within a year. The agency has also aided international law enforcement in seizing approximately GBP 18 million and GBP 2.27 million from the network.
Since the beginning of Operation Destabilise, there have been 128 arrests, with over GBP 25 million seized in cash and cryptocurrency within the UK.
The NCA has launched a campaign to communicate directly with money launderers who move criminal funds. These messages, provided in both English and Russian, highlight the risks they face by handling illicit cash tied to harmful crimes.
Network Details
In December 2024, during Operation Destabilise, two networks—TGR and Smart—were identified as part of a larger operation. These networks worked together to launder money for transnational crime groups involved in cybercrime and other unlawful activities, supporting their Russian clients in illegally bypassing financial restrictions to invest in the UK.
Sal Melki, Deputy Director for Economic Crime at the National Crime Agency, stated that with such significant threats, the NCA and its partners plan to continue cracking down on these networks and others involved. Regulators have significantly curtailed these networks’ ability to operate in the UK and intend to persistently arrest, prosecute, seize, sanction, and deny criminals access to financial services they rely on.
