A money laundering ring has been jailed for 13 years after exploiting the Russia-Ukraine war to turn millions of pounds of illicit funds.
Veleriy Popovych, 52, and Vitaliy Lutsak, 43, were arrested after being found guilty of converting illicit funds into cryptocurrency through a sophisticated operation involving the purchase of vehicles in the United Kingdom to be sold in Ukraine.
In just a year, they managed to launder £6.63 million and used the proceeds to buy a second home in London.
The operation was concealed by taking advantage of the high demand for vehicles in Ukraine and the country’s lax crypto regulations.
Popovych, who ran a legitimate export business, Sprint Commercial Ltd, bought the vehicles using illicit funds and converted the profits into cryptocurrency.
The crime ended after police seized £190,000 in cash and found significant evidence, including more than $14 million in crypto transactions carried out by the suspects.
The two masterminds of the operation along with their accomplices in the money laundering operation are now facing lengthy prison sentences.
