Cryptocurrency: British criminal organization laundered money for Russia

Using cryptocurrency to launder money turned out to be a fatal mistake. National Crime Agency (NCA) has just discovered the existence of the network from money laundering, which acts in Great Britain . According to investigators, this criminal organization converted dirty money into cryptocurrencies on behalf of drug dealers, arms dealers and all kinds of criminals, as well as Russian interests seeking to avoid economic sanctions imposed by Western countries.

Key points of this article:

• The National Crime Agency has uncovered a huge criminal money laundering ring that used cryptocurrencies in the UK.
• The operation resulted in the arrest of 128 people and the seizure of £25 million in cash and digital assets.

The NCA arrested 128 people and seized £25 million (including cryptocurrency). In the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) is a government agency established in 2013 that fights organized crime and has broad powers to investigate illegal activity. The NCA can carry out surveillance operations, search premises, seize property and arrest suspects. It cooperates with other national and international agencies to eliminate criminal networks.

According to CoinDesk, the NCA recently discovered the existence of a huge criminal organization that laundered dirty money, using cryptocurrencies which, as we shall see, was a very bad idea .

This organization operated in 28 cities throughout the UK and converted profits from drug, arms and other criminal activities into cryptocurrencies. These funds were also allegedly used to finance Russian interests seeking to circumvent economic sanctions imposed by Western countries.

Are cryptocurrencies really anonymous? This operation, which received the name “Destabilization” led to the arrest 128 people and the withdrawal of cash and digital assets in the amount of over 25 million pounds . Investigators also found that the network purchased its own bank to facilitate illegal payments linked to Russian interests. One of the main suspects, a citizen of Russia Kateryna Zhdanova is currently in custody in France awaiting trial.

The NCA emphasized that, although common (false) idea that digital assets offer a degree of anonymity, transparency of public blockchain registers is proving to be a valuable tool for mapping these criminal networks.

Madeleine Kennedy, Vice President Chainalysis stated that there are public blockchains “a bad tool for money laundering”, because they allow law enforcement track cryptocurrency funds, related to human trafficking and cybercrime.

Contrary to popular belief, cryptocurrencies not anonymous, a pseudonyms . Each transaction is registered in a distributed ledger of the blockchain, which allows tracking the movement of funds from one address to another. Thus, investigators can monitor transactions and conduct investigations to identify those involved, if there is suspicion of criminal activity. This is what allowed the NCA to uncover this money laundering network.

STEADY LADS $100,000 PORTFOLIO MONITORING Distribution as of 11/25/25:
💵 Stablecoins: 59% — 💰 Cryptocurrencies: 41%

The Steady Lads portfolio remains balanced: Kara maintains a balanced allocation and keeps a large portion in stablecoins to survive the correction. If Bitcoin recovers to the $100,000 mark, a strategic reduction in exposure may be considered.

📍 Follow Kara’s full portfolio and decisions on Steady Lads in real time

Join the Steady Lads

Source: journalducoin.com