A billion-dollar money laundering network that operated across Britain bought a controlling stake in a Kyrgyzstani bank to facilitate sanctions evasion and support Russia's war in Ukraine, Britain's National Crime Agency said on Friday.
In an update to an international investigation into Russian money laundering networks, dubbed "Operation Destabilise", the NCA said it was highlighting the scale of networks it was disrupting that convert cash from street crime into cryptocurrency and tie the local drugs trade to organised and state-sponsored crime.
The NCA and the U.S. Treasury Department last December cast a spotlight on TGR and Smart, two networks they said were used by rich Russians to evade sanctions and which London said laundered cash for drug traffickers, criminals and spies in a "cash-for-crypto" swap.
In a global crackdown, the NCA and its enforcement partners in countries such as the U.S., France, Spain and Ireland have arrested 128 to date. More than 25 million pounds ($33 million) has been seized in cash and cryptocurrency in Britain alone to date, the NCA said.
The U.S. Treasury said last December it had imposed sanctions on members of the groups, which it said helped elite Russians use cryptocurrency to evade sanctions imposed after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The NCA said TGR was linked to the purchase of a majority stake in Keremet Bank, a Kyrgyzstani lender sanctioned by the United States. The U.S. Treasury said in January that the sale by the Kyrgyzstani finance ministry was intended to "create a sanctions evasion hub, opens new tab" for Russian trade payments.
Keremet Bank has said it would challenge the decision.
The NCA said the stake in Keremet Bank, which it believes
facilitated cross-border payments that supported companies involved in Russian sectors such as defence, aerospace and technology, was held by a company linked to George Rossi.
U.S. and British authorities believe Rossi, a Ukrainian national who has been sanctioned by the U.S., heads TGR.
Reuters was unable to contact Rossi.
"Today we can reveal the sheer scale at which these networks operate and draw a line between crimes in our communities, sophisticated organised criminals and state sponsored activity," said Sal Melki, NCA's deputy director for economic crime.
