UK Says Billion-Dollar Laundering Ring Supported Russian Sanctions Evasion

Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has revealed that a billion-dollar money laundering network operating across the UK purchased control of a Kyrgyzstani bank to facilitate sanctions evasion and indirectly support Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The announcement came on Friday as part of a wider update on Operation Destabilise, a multinational investigation targeting sophisticated Russian-linked laundering systems.

How the Network Operated

According to the NCA, the disrupted networks were converting street-level criminal cash into cryptocurrency, effectively bridging:

Local drug-trade profits
Organised crime groups
State-sponsored activity tied to Russia

These networks formed a “cash-for-crypto” pipeline used by wealthy Russians to move money around international banking restrictions.

TGR and Smart: Crypto Channels for Sanctions Evasion

The NCA and the U.S. Treasury first identified two major laundering networks—TGR and Smart—in December of last year. Authorities said these groups:

Helped rich Russians evade Western sanctions
Laundered money for drug cartels, criminal syndicates, and intelligence operatives
Converted illicit cash into cryptocurrency for cross-border movement

Phase Two of Operation Destabilise: 128 Arrests Worldwide

The ongoing global crackdown includes cooperation with enforcement agencies in:

The United States
France
Spain
Ireland

So far, 128 arrests have been made, and in the UK alone authorities have seized over £25 million ($33 million) in cash and cryptocurrency.

The U.S. Treasury previously sanctioned members of the laundering networks, saying they helped elite Russians continue accessing financial systems after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

TGR Linked to Acquisition of Sanctioned Kyrgyzstani Bank

One of the most significant revelations is that TGR was connected to the purchase of a majority stake in Keremet Bank, a Kyrgyzstani lender sanctioned by the U.S.

The U.S. Treasury said earlier this year that the bank’s sale—conducted by Kyrgyzstan’s finance ministry—was intended to create a “sanctions evasion hub” for Russian trade payments.

The NCA believes the acquisition enabled:

Cross-border transactions
Payments benefiting companies in Russian defense, aerospace, and technology sectors

Who Is Behind TGR?

Authorities say the controlling stake in Keremet Bank was held through a company linked to George Rossi, a Ukrainian national sanctioned by the U.S.

Both U.S. and UK officials believe Rossi is the leader of TGR, though Reuters was unable to contact him for comment.

Keremet Bank has stated it intends to legally challenge the sanctions imposed against it.

NCA: Local Crime Is Tied to State-Backed Networks

Sal Melki, the NCA’s deputy director for economic crime, emphasized the breadth of the criminal networks involved.

“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.”

The findings highlight how local cash operations feed into international criminal ecosystems that support hostile state interests.