By SCM Reporter
TWO RENEGADE thugs are facing a long stretch behind bars today after being found guilty of a terrifying, Russian-backed arson campaign targeting properties linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
In a plot straight out of a cold war spy thriller, Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were recruited on the encrypted messaging app Telegram by a mysterious Russian-speaking puppet master known only as “El Money.”
The mercenary duo sold out British security for dirty cash, unleashing a wave of fire attacks across North London. Believing they were on their way to a cryptocurrency payday, they torched a car formerly owned by the PM before firebombing two houses linked to him—including his family home where his terrified sister-in-law was sleeping inside.
Today, a jury at the Old Bailey unanimously found Ukrainian national Lavrynovych and Romanian accomplice Carpiuc guilty of conspiracy to commit arson following a dramatic six-week trial. Lavrynovych was also convicted of two counts of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
The court heard how the chaotic blitz of terror began in May last year when counter-terror cops were scrambled to three mysterious fires in the space of just five days.
The sinister operation was coordinated entirely over social media. Lavrynovych, a construction worker living in Sydenham, south London, had fallen into financial desperation and posted over 100 times in online forums looking for “casual work, open to any options.”
He was snared by “El Money”—a translation of the Ukrainian word for cash, “Hroshi.” The handler, communicating entirely in Russian, initially paid the cash-strapped worker to plaster anti-Islamphobic and political posters across the capital at night.
Lavrynovych was offered £3,000 in Tether cryptocurrency to graduate to firebombing. The handler had one chilling stipulation: the arsons had to make national television news.
A timeline of the escalating terror attacks reveals how the plot unfolded over one week in May:
The Reconnaissance
May 6
CCTV captures Lavrynovych browsing a south London B&Q branch, where he uses cash to buy bottles of white spirit accelerant to prep for the blitz.
First Attack: The Toyota RAV4
May 8
Lavrynovych travels to Kentish Town in the dead of night and sets fire to a Toyota RAV4. The vehicle formerly belonged to Keir Starmer before he sold it to a neighbour.
Second Attack: The Former Flat
May 11
A second fire is intentionally lit at the front door of a block of flats in Islington—a property Starmer managed in the 1990s.
Third Attack: The PM’s Family Home
May 12 (1:00 AM)
Lavrynovych strikes Starmer’s family home in Kentish Town, setting the front door ablaze. Inside, the PM’s sister-in-law wakes to an “orange glow” and thick smoke.
The Airport Escape
As counter-terrorism detectives flooded North London, the shadowy “El Money” realized the net was closing in. He messaged Lavrynovych on Telegram, ordering him to flee the UK immediately:
”Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I’ll send you money, you need to leave the city.”
The handler even gave him a secret emergency code word—”geranium”—promising to deploy a lawyer and cash if he was caught.
But British justice moved faster. CTP London detectives tracked Lavrynovych to his home within 24 hours of the final fire, using CCTV and a discarded petrol can containing his DNA. His trainers were also forensically matched to the white spirit used at the scene.
Accomplice Carpiuc, who helped plan the logistical trail and chase the cryptocurrency payouts, was intercepted by anti-terror cops on May 17. He was arrested inside the departure lounge at Luton Airport, moments before he could board a flight to Romania.
A third defendant, Petro Pochynok, 35, was cleared of all charges by the jury.
Security experts warn that this trial exposes a terrifying new frontier in hostile state operations inside the UK.
European intelligence agencies have heavily documented a rising wave of Russian-directed sabotage, cyber-warfare, and arson across the continent. Instead of sending trained spies, hostile states are now using “disposable agents”—vulnerable foreign nationals recruited unwittingly through open digital marketplaces like Telegram.
While Scotland Yard confirmed there was “no ideological motivation” and no evidence the arsonists explicitly knew they were targeting the Prime Minister, the broader geopolitical motive was clear. Security sources state that the pro-Kremlin hacktivist network NoName057(16) is heavily linked to the “El Money” handler identity.
The ultimate goal of the operation was to sow fear, media unrest, and domestic disruption within the UK, while simultaneously discrediting Ukrainian refugees abroad by framing them as potential saboteurs.
Following the verdicts, Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, issued a fierce warning to the public:
”The actions of these men were incredibly reckless and it was sheer luck that nobody was killed. Crimes being directed by anonymous online accounts promising payment is a recurring trend. Our message is to think again. You will not get paid, you will be identified, and you will face a lengthy jail sentence.”
Lavrynovych and Carpiuc have been remanded in custody. Both men will return to the Old Bailey on Friday, June 19, to discover how many years they will spend behind bars.
The Airport Escape
As counter-terrorism detectives flooded North London, the shadowy “El Money” realized the net was closing in. He messaged Lavrynovych on Telegram, ordering him to flee the UK immediately:
”Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I’ll send you money, you need to leave the city.”
The handler even gave him a secret emergency code word—”geranium”—promising to deploy a lawyer and cash if he was caught.
But British justice moved faster. CTP London detectives tracked Lavrynovych to his home within 24 hours of the final fire, using CCTV and a discarded petrol can containing his DNA. His trainers were also forensically matched to the white spirit used at the scene.
Accomplice Carpiuc, who helped plan the logistical trail and chase the cryptocurrency payouts, was intercepted by anti-terror cops on May 17. He was arrested inside the departure lounge at Luton Airport, moments before he could board a flight to Romania.
A third defendant, Petro Pochynok, 35, was cleared of all charges by the jury.
Security experts warn that this trial exposes a terrifying new frontier in hostile state operations inside the UK.
European intelligence agencies have heavily documented a rising wave of Russian-directed sabotage, cyber-warfare, and arson across the continent. Instead of sending trained spies, hostile states are now using “disposable agents”—vulnerable foreign nationals recruited unwittingly through open digital marketplaces like Telegram.
While Scotland Yard confirmed there was “no ideological motivation” and no evidence the arsonists explicitly knew they were targeting the Prime Minister, the broader geopolitical motive was clear.
Security sources state that the pro-Kremlin hacktivist network NoName057(16) is heavily linked to the “El Money” handler identity.
The ultimate goal of the operation was to sow fear, media unrest, and domestic disruption within the UK, while simultaneously discrediting Ukrainian refugees abroad by framing them as potential saboteurs.
Following the verdicts, Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, issued a fierce warning to the public:
”The actions of these men were incredibly reckless and it was sheer luck that nobody was killed. Crimes being directed by anonymous online accounts promising payment is a recurring trend. Our message is to think again. You will not get paid, you will be identified, and you will face a lengthy jail sentence.”
Lavrynovych and Carpiuc have been remanded in custody. Both men will return to the Old Bailey on Friday, June 19, to discover how many years they will spend behind bars.
