December 5, 2024 at 01:18AM
The U.K. National Crime Agency led Operation Destabilise, disrupting Russian money laundering networks, resulting in 84 arrests and the seizure of £20 million ($25.4 million). The U.S. Treasury sanctioned several individuals linked to these networks, which facilitated sanctions evasion and organized crime across multiple regions, including the U.K. and South America.
### Meeting Takeaways – Dec 05, 2024
**Subject:** Disruption of Russian Money Laundering Networks
1. **Operation Destabilise**:
– The U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) led an international investigation targeting Russian money laundering networks.
– Key outcomes include:
– Arrests of 84 suspects connected to two networks: Smart and TGR.
– Seizure of £20 million ($25.4 million) in cash and cryptocurrency.
2. **Network Locations**:
– Both Smart and TGR are based in Moscow’s Federation Tower, known as a money laundering hub.
3. **U.S. Sanctions**:
– Concurrently, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s OFAC sanctioned five individuals and four entities related to the TGR Group.
– The TGR Group allegedly exploited digital assets, especially U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins, to evade sanctions.
4. **Key Individuals**:
– Ekaterina Zhdanova, head of Smart Group, was previously sanctioned for aiding Russian nationals and cybercriminals in laundering cryptocurrency.
– Zhdanova laundered approximately $2.3 million in payments linked to the Ryuk ransomware group in 2021.
5. **Criminal Activities**:
– The TGR Group is involved in various illicit financial services:
– Laundering funds for sanctioned entities.
– Unregistered currency exchange services.
– Converting cash into digital assets.
– Providing prepaid credit card services.
– Concealing the origin of funds for property purchases in the U.K.
6. **Espionage Financing**:
– The Smart network funded Russian espionage operations from late 2022 to summer 2023, though specific details were not disclosed.
7. **Link Mapping**:
– This operation revealed connections between Russian elites, crypto-rich cybercriminals, and drug gangs in the U.K., highlighting a previously “invisible” network.
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**Next Steps/Actions**:
– Continue monitoring developments related to Operation Destabilise and its implications for financial crime prevention.
– Assess the impact of U.S. sanctions on international cooperation against money laundering networks.