The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has announced the results of Operation Destabilise, a sweeping international investigation that dismantled billion-dollar Russian money laundering networks linked to drug trafficking, ransomware, sanctions evasion, and espionage.
The operation, carried out with global law enforcement partners, has already led to 84 arrests, millions in seizures, and multiple sanctions against key players. Authorities say the crackdown exposed a hidden web of Russian-speaking criminal groups who moved illicit funds across more than 30 countries while enabling both organized crime syndicates and sanctioned Russian elites.
The Networks: Smart and TGR
At the center of the operation were two Russian-speaking networks known as Smart and TGR. According to investigators, these groups provided financial services to criminals across the globe, laundering money for drug gangs, cybercriminals, and Russian oligarchs.
Smart, headed by Ekaterina Zhdanova, along with Khadzi-Murat Magomedov and Nikita Krasnov, specialized in facilitating cross-border cash-for-crypto transactions. TGR, run by George Rossi, Elena Chirkinyan, and Andrejs Bradens, coordinated cash collection and conversion schemes across Europe and the Middle East.
Together, Smart and TGR helped crime groups—including the notorious Kinahan cartel, sanctioned by the US in 2022—reinvest their illicit profits in narcotics, firearms, and other operations. At the same time, they enabled Russian elites to circumvent Western sanctions, injecting dirty money into the UK economy through property investments and financial institutions.
How the Laundering Worked
Operation Destabilise revealed how the networks used a “mirror exchange” system: cash collected in one country was swapped for cryptocurrency, with the equivalent value delivered to clients elsewhere.
In the UK, the NCA observed street-level cash handovers followed almost immediately by cryptocurrency transfers. Criminal gangs then used the virtual currency to purchase drugs, firearms, or reinvest in cyber operations, eliminating the need to move physical cash across borders.
Authorities seized £20 million in cash and cryptocurrency, but investigators estimate the networks laundered hundreds of millions, charging as little as 3% commission. This slim margin meant the £20m seized represented a devastating financial blow, forcing the groups to launder approximately £700m just to break even.
Espionage, Ransomware, and Arms
The laundering operations went beyond drug trafficking. Between late 2022 and mid-2023, the Smart network was used to fund Russian espionage operations in the UK.
The networks also facilitated payments for Russian cybercriminals. In 2021, Zhdanova laundered more than $2.3 million in ransomware payments tied to the notorious Ryuk group, which extorted at least £27m from UK victims—including hospitals, schools, and local authorities.
Further, the networks’ crypto addresses showed regular exposure to Garantex, a sanctioned exchange linked to payments for weapons components used in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Arrests, Sentences, and Sanctions
The NCA coordinated dozens of arrests in the UK, Ireland, and across Europe. In one case, a London-based courier directed by Zhdanova and Krasnov laundered over £15m in criminal cash, earning a prison sentence of more than four years in 2022.
Another courier network moved £12m in just ten weeks, with its ringleaders jailed for a combined ten years in 2024. Ireland’s police service, An Garda Síochána, also arrested and imprisoned a courier tied to the operation.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned six leaders of Smart and TGR, as well as four businesses, including Siam Expert Trading Company Ltd., which exported electronic components to Russia. The sanctions ban US persons from dealing with them and freeze any US-based assets.
Public Statements
Rob Jones, Director General of Operations at the NCA, described the networks as an unprecedented discovery:
“For the first time, we have been able to map out a link between Russian elites, crypto-rich cyber criminals, and drugs gangs on the streets of the UK. The thread that tied them together—the combined force of Smart and TGR—was invisible until now.”
He added that the NCA had disrupted the networks “at every level,” stripping away their legitimacy and making London an increasingly hostile environment for money launderers.
Nik Adams, Acting Assistant Commissioner of the City of London Police, echoed the sentiment:
“The networks disrupted by Operation Destabilise were hidden in plain sight, moving vast sums of money linked to drugs and serious violence on our streets. Money laundering robs society of funds that should support schools, hospitals, and social services.”
UK Security Minister Dan Jarvis praised the collaboration between domestic and international agencies:
“Illicit finance inflicts immense harm around the world. This operation marks a significant step against economic crime. The UK and its allies will continue to crack down on kleptocrats, drug gangs, and cyber criminals who depend on dirty money.”
International Collaboration
Operation Destabilise was a truly global effort, involving:
- The US Treasury’s OFAC
- The FBI and DEA
- French law enforcement (Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire)
- An Garda Síochána (Ireland)
- Authorities in the UAE
The cooperation highlights the increasingly international nature of organized crime and the necessity of joint enforcement action.
Hidden in Plain Sight
The NCA noted that some laundering networks operated from within UK communities, using couriers in 55 different locations across England, Scotland, Wales, and the Channel Islands.
By mid-2023, NCA pressure made London increasingly difficult for these groups to operate in. Russian-speaking laundering networks in the capital began charging higher commissions and were reluctant to continue large-scale transactions.
Broader Impact
Beyond arrests and seizures, Operation Destabilise sends a strong message: London and the UK are no longer safe havens for illicit finance. By exposing Smart and TGR, authorities not only disrupted drug and cybercrime supply chains but also weakened Russia’s ability to funnel illicit funds into the West.
For communities in the UK, the operation directly impacts safety. Cash laundering facilitated drug trafficking, which in turn fueled violence on British streets. Disrupting the networks helps choke off the financial lifeline sustaining such harm.
Conclusion
Operation Destabilise has peeled back the layers of a hidden global economy—where Russian oligarchs, ransomware groups, and drug cartels intersect.
While challenges remain in tackling the adaptability of such networks, the coordinated response by the NCA and its partners marks a decisive step. For law enforcement, policymakers, and the public, the message is clear: money laundering is not a victimless crime, but a driver of violence, corruption, and instability.
The NCA promises that this is only the beginning of sustained international efforts to ensure crime doesn’t pay.
