A court in London has found two men guilty of conspiring to set fire to a property and a car linked to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – as reported, among others, the British public broadcaster the BBC on 15 June.
A jury at Old Bailey delivered its verdict on 22-year-old Ukrainian national Roman Lavrinovich and 27-year-old Romanian national Stanislav Karpyuk.
The prosecution stated in court that Lavrinovich carried out the arson attacks after being recruited online by a Russian-speaking Telegram user going by the pseudonym El Money, who promised to pay him for it.
Lavrinovich was acquitted of the charge of causing damage to property by arson with intent to endanger human life on 11 and 12 May 2025 at two properties in North London. Instead, he was convicted on alternative charges of causing damage to property by arson which could have endangered human life.
A third suspect, 35-year-old Petr Pochin, was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit arson.
All three, who live in London, denied conspiring with each other and with others to cause property damage by arson between 1 April and 13 May 2025.
The court will announce the sentences for the two defendants on Friday.
According to Reuters, EL Money communicated with Lavrinovich in Russian and Ukrainian. Prosecutors did not reveal in court who, in their view, was hiding behind this pseudonym. They stated that the aim of this court case was not to establish his identity or his motives for damaging the property and vehicle linked to the Prime Minister.
The agency quotes Helen Flanagan, head of the London police’s counter-terrorism unit, who stated before the hearing that there was no evidence that the Russian authorities were behind the arson attacks.
At the same time, according to the findings of a BBC Panorama investigation, the user ‘El Money’ may be 23-year-old Russian diplomat and son of a high-ranking official, Yevgeny Lyukshin. The investigation revealed that this Telegram account offered Russian citizenship in exchange for further attacks and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin in its messages.
In May, the Financial Times reported, citing sources, that British intelligence agencies were investigating Russia’s involvement in arson attacks on property linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.