NCA operation exposes financial channels supporting Russia’s sanctions evasion
The United Kingdom has uncovered a nationwide money-laundering network worth more than $1 billion that enabled Russian sanctions evasion and helped finance Moscow’s war against Ukraine, according to the National Crime Agency. As reported through an investigation into the money-laundering networks linked to Russia, authorities revealed that the scheme functioned as part of an international operation known as “Destabilisation,” drawing on criminal cash, cryptocurrency conversion and offshore banking structures.
NCA officials said the network used street-level criminal proceeds, which were then converted into digital assets to support Russian intelligence services, narcotics traffickers and state-linked entities. A central element was the acquisition of a controlling stake in Kyrgyzstan’s Keremet Bank, already under US sanctions, which became a platform for routing Russian trade payments outside established financial controls.
Keremet Bank at the centre of a sanctions-evasion system
According to US Treasury findings cited by investigators, the bank’s purchase was intended to create a dedicated hub for bypassing sanctions and facilitating Russia’s cross-border transactions. The NCA said the stake was held through a company tied to George Rossi, identified by British and American intelligence as the head of the TGR network. Rossi himself is sanctioned by the United States.
Investigators added that the bank processed payments supporting Russian defence, aviation and technology firms, embedding these transactions within a broader system designed to blur the distinction between official financial channels and criminal operations. In the second phase of the operation, law-enforcement agencies from the UK, the US, France, Spain and Ireland arrested 128 people, seizing more than £25 million in cash and cryptocurrency in the UK alone. NCA deputy director for economic crime Sal Melki said the case illustrates “the true scale of criminal networks that fuse street crime with state-funded Russian operations.” Keremet Bank said it intends to contest the sanctions.
A hybrid financial strategy challenging global oversight
The exposure of a billion-dollar laundering system underscores Russia’s persistent efforts to bypass international restrictions, demonstrating that sanctions—while damaging—generate parallel financial channels if not continuously monitored and updated. The combination of street-crime proceeds, cryptocurrency operations and control of a foreign bank shows how Russian networks merge criminal enterprises with state objectives, creating a hybrid structure that complicates tracking and oversight.
The use of a sanctioned bank in Kyrgyzstan highlights Russia’s strategy to establish financial hubs in third countries, enabling transactions for its defence and technology sectors and shaping an alternative settlement ecosystem. Such models may be replicated by other isolated states. Western nations are being urged to intensify scrutiny of cryptocurrency flows through global monitoring mechanisms and mandatory identification rules, as these assets remain a grey zone exploited by hostile states.
Strengthening sanctions enforcement and countering criminal ecosystems
Experts note that effective sanctions require constant adaptation to new evasion tactics and expanded targeting of intermediaries who enable illicit financial systems. The example of George Rossi and the TGR network shows that “shadow managers” play a pivotal role despite lacking formal state affiliations, making them essential targets for sanctioning and prosecution.
Russia’s integration of criminal groups into state policy indicates that combating such operations must go beyond traditional sanctions and include measures addressing organized crime as an instrument of geopolitical strategy. Weakly regulated financial jurisdictions—such as Kyrgyzstan—pose particular risks as “sanctions islands” where alternative payment channels can be rebuilt. Closer cooperation with these governments, alongside coordinated action between the EU, the US and allies, remains critical to shutting down global networks that serve as the hidden financial backbone of the war.
