Overview

• Two interconnected networks, Smart Group and TGR Group, allegedly laundered billions for Russian elites, cybercriminals, and drug cartels, operating across 30 countries.
• The networks used cryptocurrency to obscure the origins of illicit funds, facilitating sanctions evasion, property purchases, and funding for Russian espionage operations.
• Authorities arrested 84 individuals, including key figures Ekaterina Zhdanova and associates, seizing £20 million in cash and cryptocurrency as part of the international crackdown.
• The Smart network reportedly laundered ransomware payments and funds linked to organized crime, while TGR focused on integrating illicit money into legitimate financial systems.
• The investigation revealed ties to South American drug cartels, the Kinahan crime family, and Russian state-controlled entities, marking the largest money laundering operation tackled by the UK's National Crime Agency in a decade.