KeirBy A SCM REPORTER I 19 June 2026
TWO reckless arsonists who targeted properties and a vehicle connected to Prime Minister Keir Starmer have been locked up after a terrifying plot orchestrated by a mysterious online handler known only as ‘El Money’.
The Old Bailey heard how Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych, 22, acting as a “useful idiot,” and Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were recruited via the Telegram messaging app to carry out a series of targeted firebombings in North London.
The duo’s week-long campaign of terror in May 2025 sent shockwaves through Whitehall, sparking a frantic, high-stakes manhunt by elite counter-terrorism detectives.
The court heard how the targeted attacks began on May 8, 2025, when a Toyota car formerly owned by the Prime Minister was suddenly set ablaze. Just three days later, on May 11, a second fire was lit directly in the doorway of a residential property in Islington, North London—an address managed by a company where Starmer was previously a director and shareholder.
The campaign escalated to its most dangerous peak on May 12 last year, when a third fire ripped through a house in Islington owned by Keir Starmer himself, prompting Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London to urgently seize control of the investigation.
Sentencing the pair, the Judge did not hold back, branding the 22-year-old Lavrynovych a “useful idiot” for his role in the attacks and slamming his “utterly reckless” disregard for the lives of the innocent occupants inside the targeted homes.
”The prison sentences in this case reflect the incredibly reckless actions of the two men involved,” said Commander Helen Flanagan, head of CTP London.
The Sun can reveal that detectives managed to smash the conspiracy within just days of taking the case, launching a race against time to capture the ars onists before they could obliterate vital evidence.
Lavrynovych was nicked at his home in Sydenham on May 13, 2025, after eagle-eyed detectives spotted him on local CCTV footage.
A digital forensic sweep of his phone exposed a massive paper trail, including reconnaissance history of the PM’s addresses and thousands of texts that had to be painstakingly translated from Ukrainian to English.
Cops also uncovered sinister Telegram exchanges between both men and a mysterious, Russian-speaking handler using the alias ‘El Money’. The shadow handler had recruited, directed, and promised cash payments to the men to carry out the arson attacks.
Meanwhile, Carpiuc, from Romford, realized the game was up and made a desperate dash for freedom. But elite CTP officers intercepted him on May 17, 2025, snatching him directly from the departure lounge at Luton Airport just moments before he could board a flight to Romania.
Despite trying to cover their tracks, the arsonists left behind a mountain of damning forensic evidence.
Counter-terror experts successfully linked a pair of Lavrynovych’s trainers to the white spirit used to accelerate the terrifying blaze on Ellington Street. Cops also found a discarded petrol can covered in his DNA, alongside high-definition CCTV footage from B&Q showing him casually buying the white spirit shortly before the attacks.
Lavrynovych was hit with a seven-year prison sentence after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit arson and two counts of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered. His fixer, Carpiuc, was sentenced to two years behind bars for his involvement in the conspiracy.
Commander Flanagan issued a chilling warning to anyone tempted by the promise of quick cash from anonymous online accounts:
”Our message to anyone who might be approached in this way… is to think again.
“As we’ve seen here, you will not get paid as you are promised, you will be identified and brought to justice, and the only thing you will be left with is facing the prospect of a lengthy jail sentence.”
