The Times: UK drug users’ spending secretly fuels Russia’s war

Middle-class Britons buying recreational drugs on weekends are inadvertently helping finance Russia’s military operations, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Investigators have traced a direct line between casual drug spending in the UK and funding that ultimately reaches the Russian industrial military complex, according to The Times.

The NCA said a network of money launderers operates in at least 28 towns and cities across the country, converting cash from drug sales, firearms offences, ransomware, and immigration-related crimes into “clean” cryptocurrency. These cash-to-crypto conversions, described by officials as “integral” to organised crime, also provide a conduit for state-linked Russian activity.

Deputy Director for Economic Crime Sal Melki highlighted the scale of the operation: “We can draw a clear thread between someone buying cocaine on a Friday night all the way to geopolitical events causing suffering across the world.” Money mules, often unaware of the risks, typically earn just 0.5 per cent of laundered transactions — equivalent to £500 for £100,000.

Operation Destabilise, conducted in cooperation with international partners, has resulted in 45 arrests this year alone and the seizure of over £5.1 million in cash. Overall, the operation has recovered £25 million in cash and cryptocurrency across the UK.

In one high-profile case, Valeriy Popovych, 53, and Vitaliy Lutsak, 44, were jailed for a combined 13 years after laundering more than £6 million. The pair exploited demand in Ukraine for vehicles, converting earnings into cryptocurrency, while Popovych even purchased a £1 million property in southwest London.

The NCA has also identified prominent figures at the heart of international laundering networks. Russian socialite Ekaterina Zhdanova, who operated the financial firm Smart, is in custody in France awaiting trial. Smart and the related institution TGR facilitated the conversion of illicit funds into property and cryptocurrency, with links to Russian Intelligence services and espionage activities across Europe.

UK authorities have stepped up awareness campaigns, including posters in motorway service stations, warning that anyone moving criminal cash risks prosecution. Security Minister Dan Jarvis said the operations expose “the corrupt tactics Russia used to avoid sanctions and fund its illegal war in Ukraine” and stressed that any support for hostile foreign states “will never be tolerated on our streets.”

The revelations underline the hidden international consequences of domestic criminal activity, showing that seemingly small transactions can feed a complex web of geopolitical and military operations.

By Aghakazim Guliyev