The Russian "crypto queen" laundered money for oligarchs and spies: a criminal scheme has been uncovered in Britain (photo).

A multi-billion dollar Russian money laundering scheme involving drug cartels, cybercriminals, and Russian oligarchs has been uncovered in Britain under the direction of the National Crime Agency (NCA). This scheme laundered "dirty" money from criminal groups across 30 countries and operated in London, Moscow, and Dubai. The investigation by British law enforcement revealed that at the center of the operations was the head of the Russian cryptocurrency company Smart, Ekaterina Zhdanova, reports the NCA press service.

The NCA states that the network laundering billions of dollars operated in a manner previously unknown to international law enforcement or regulatory agencies.

"For the first time, we have been able to outline the connection between Russian elites, cybercriminals, wealthy in cryptocurrency, and drug trafficking gangs on the streets of the UK. The thread that linked them together — the combined power of Smart and TGR — had remained invisible until now," said Rob Jones, CEO of the NCA.

It has been reported that the global scheme received dirty money from criminal groups in 30 countries and, for a fee, exchanged it for untraceable cryptocurrency, thus keeping the proceeds from illegal drug trafficking "in the shadows." The head of the Moscow-based cryptocurrency company Smart, Ekaterina Zhdanova, was identified as being at the center of the money laundering schemes, leading to the moniker "Cash for the Crypto Queen."

The Russian national was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2023 for laundering money for Russian elites. At that time, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Russian oligarchs were circumventing American and international sanctions using cryptocurrency. The name of the suspect was not publicly disclosed, and it was not reported whether any asset seizure measures were taken. However, earlier in 2022, NCA investigators noted the use of cryptocurrency exchanges operated by the British branches of Smart and TGR for illegal fund transfers and financing Russian espionage operations.

Additionally, in 2023, the NCA reported that the Smart and TGR scheme facilitated the transfer of funds for activities in Britain by the propaganda Russian media outlet Russia Today.

According to British law enforcement, more than £100 billion (over $126 billion) is laundered through the UK each year, of which £5 billion (more than $6 billion) was laundered using cryptocurrency.

As part of the NCA investigation, 84 individuals were arrested, and £20 million (over $25 million) in cash and cryptocurrency was seized.

The UK Security Minister, Dan Jarvis, stated that the operation "exposed Russian kleptocrats, drug cartels, and cybercriminals who relied on the flow of dirty money."

It is worth noting that on September 26, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against Russian cryptocurrency platforms PM2BTC and Cryptex, which were suspected of money laundering and illegal cyber activities.