Russian crypto criminals helped UK drug gangs launder lockdown cash

UK drug gangs paid Russian criminals to swap their dirty street cash for untraceable cryptocurrency, police say.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersRussian criminals helped UK drug gangs launder lockdown cashNCAEkaterina Zhdanova was named by the NCA as a key figure in the global money laundering networkA multi-billion-dollar money laundering operation that formed when UK gangs were struggling to offload cash during lockdown has been uncovered by the National Crime Agency.

Discovering the Russian-speaking network embedded in the UK’s street drugs market is the biggest success against money laundering in a decade, say investigators.

The global operation, based in Moscow, has been taking dirty money from crime gangs for a fee, and allowing them to exchange it for untraceable cryptocurrency, protecting drugs profits from detection. The network has also been used by the Russian state to fund espionage.

The network stretches across 30 countries, and 84 people have so far been arrested, including 71 in the UK, the NCA and its partners told reporters at a briefing earlier this week.

UK Security Minister Dan Jarvis said the operation "exposed Russian kleptocrats, drug gangs and cyber criminals - all of whom relied on the flow of dirty money".

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70ezyrep1go

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