A Ukrainian man has been found guilty of carrying out a series of arson attacks on properties linked to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after being recruited by a mystery figure known only as "EL Money".
Roman Lavrynovych, 22, was convicted at London's Old Bailey on Monday of two counts of arson while being reckless as to whether life was endangered. He was acquitted of two counts of arson with intent to endanger life.
The case relates to three separate incidents over five days in May last year. Fires were reported at a house in north London linked to Starmer, a nearby property where he had previously lived, and a Toyota vehicle that had once belonged to the prime minister.
Lavrynovych and 27-year-old Stanislav Carpiuc, a Romanian national born in Ukraine, were also found guilty of conspiracy to commit arson. A third defendant, Ukrainian national Petro Pochynok, 35, was acquitted of the same charge.
All three men are due to be sentenced on Friday.
Jurors heard that Lavrynovych had been offered money to carry out the attacks through a Telegram account operating under the name "EL Money".
According to prosecutors, the account communicated with him in both Russian and Ukrainian.
The identity of the person or organisation behind the account was not disclosed during the trial.
"It is no part of your considerations to decide who 'EL Money' is and what reason he might have had to co-ordinate the actions of these defendants against these properties and this car associated with the prime minister," prosecutor Duncan Atkinson told jurors.
The attacks prompted an investigation led by counter-terrorism police because of their connection to the prime minister.
However, authorities said there was no evidence linking Russia to the incidents.
Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said investigators had found no evidence that Russia was behind the attacks.
The verdict brings to a close one of the most high-profile criminal cases involving properties associated with a serving British prime minister in recent years.
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