Wednesday’s US sanctions are the final stage in exposing the network, by targeting the people at the top.
The US office of Foreign Assets Control said it had sanctioned the head of TGR, Russia-born Ukrainian national George Rossi, also known as Georgy, and his second in command, Elena Chirkinyan, a Russian national.
Rossi has presented himself as being a legitimate businessman based in London, but his whereabouts are unclear.
The US Treasury says Ekaterina Zhdanova and other members of the TGR network used cryptocurrency and British financial services to move £2m into the UK to buy property for a Russian national, who has not been publicly named. The NCA has not revealed whether it has taken action to seize that property.
However, Zhdanova’s alleged role in assisting sanctioned individuals is just one part of what the NCA says are her links to Moscow.
Investigators say that, in 2022, the Russian state used the Smart and TGR crypto-exchange services to move funds for espionage.
Then, in 2023, the NCA says the scheme helped the state-controlled Russia Today media platform, banned in the UK, move cash into the country for one of its operations.
Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's newsGet our free newsletter from The Independent's Race CorrespondentGet our fre
In a determined effort to retain Nissan’s manufacturing presence in Britain, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has vowed to implement “substantial c
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds today (Friday 7 March) met chiefs for Fujitsu in Tokyo to begin talks over the cost of redress for victims of th
UK foreign secretary David Lammy has said that a new multilateral fund will be needed to secure Europe’s defence as he confirmed that Britain is “open to”