In a sweeping international operation, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has seized £25 million in cash and cryptocurrency from a sprawling Russian money laundering network with tentacles reaching across 30 countries.
The investigation, which evolved from a probe into the Ryuk ransomware group, has been described as the NCA’s most significant operation in a decade.
The network operated like a financial octopus, with its head in Moscow’s Federation Tower where TGR Group and Smart cryptocurrency exchanges served as command centers.
The money-washing tentacles reached from Moscow’s high-rise hub, where digital currency dealers orchestrated their global financial shell game.
These organizations, led by George Rossi and Ekaterina Zhdanova respectively, specialized in washing dirty money until it came out crisp and seemingly legitimate – the financial equivalent of laundering your muddy hiking clothes after a weekend adventure. The case highlights how regulatory disparities between countries create vulnerabilities that criminal networks actively exploit.
Investigators uncovered the network’s purchase of Kyrgyzstan’s Keremet Bank, which functioned as a financial backdoor to fund Russian war efforts while neatly sidestepping international sanctions.
Think of it as creating a secret tunnel to bypass the security guards at the mall after you’ve been banned for previous mischief. The operation revealed on November 21, 2025 exposed a complex scheme used for sanctions evasion that directly supported Russian military operations.
The operation resulted in 128 arrests in the UK alone, with Sergei Kuksov and Artem Dzektsa receiving prison sentences of 67 and 60 months respectively.
An additional 45 suspected launderers were detained during the second phase of the operation.
Beyond the UK seizures, international authorities captured another $24 million and €2.6 million as they dismantled operations in 28 UK towns and cities.
The criminal network’s reach extended to Russian espionage, drug cartels, and the notorious Kinahan group.
Six individuals – including Magomedov, Krasnov, Rossi, Chirkinyan, and Bradens – along with several companies faced sanctions from both UK authorities and the US Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Meanwhile, Zhdanova currently sits in pre-trial detention in France.
The operation exposed how the network laundered £12.3 million in just 74 days through couriers, revealing the massive scale of a criminal enterprise that blended cybercrime, espionage, and traditional criminal activities into a dangerous financial cocktail.
Among the key operatives was Fawad Saiedi who was arrested with £250,000 in cash and later found to have transferred £15.6 million of criminal property through UK and Channel Islands networks.
