UK disables Russian money laundering networks used in ransomware

The two illicit Russian money laundering nets, Smart and TGR, have been tackled hard by the United Kingdom National Crime Agency. Besides actual laundering money, they have also been aiding, stage managing, and enabling ransomware gangs that have continued to wreak havoc on the cyber landscape. In recent days, the NCA has seen the completion of Operation Destabilise: this operation has laid down the net on 84 individuals having Russia as their language and all in close connection with fraudulent activities.

Smart and TGR enable money laundering of illegal incomes, especially earned by Russian cyberspace criminal syndicates and organized gangs in organized crime. These networks enable criminals to convert illegal, unaccounted amounts of money into apparently legitimate income so that they can evade law enforcement and financial regulatory measures. These networks facilitate far more than just financial transactions, including services for the Russian elite that help circumvent international sanctions while investing in various sectors of Western economies.

In this regard, the National Communications Authority has had close ties with numerous international partners. Collaboration worth mentioning here is that with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in the United States, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and some authorities in the United Arab Emirates. Important success for this multi-agency cooperation is the enhanced capability to target more complex cross-border networks. Much more money laundering disruption would lead to more significant impacts on tackling the wider problems of cyber crime and its financial underpinnings.

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