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.
U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and officials from m...
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said regional issues should be res...
The U.S. and five Central Asian nations have held high-level talks in Samarkand, focusing on trade, investment and regional security as Washington ...
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for continuing to target Russia's energy infrastructure, while Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight killed at least one person and damaged a metro station.
What started out as planned protests against the cost of living, declining public services and education funding in France, quickly devolved into violent riots across the country on Saturday.
The day after waiving sanctions and tariffs related to Russian exports, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he has yet to announce a final decision on the matter as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials want more time to evaluate the situation.
A Saudi AH-6i helicopter crashed in the Najran region of Saudi Arabia due to a technical malfunction, killing its two crew members, the Saudi-led coalition's spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement on Sunday.
French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the violence, looting and vandalism that erupted during cost-of-living protests across France. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu held crisis talks on Monday, calling for partial curfews and raising the possibility of a state of emergency.
U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and officials from major European nations and NATO in Norway this week for talks about ending the war in Ukraine. He is also set to travel to Russia to speak to Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. and five Central Asian nations have held high-level talks in Samarkand, focusing on trade, investment and regional security as Washington seeks to strengthen its presence in the strategically important region.
French authorities imposed local curfews in parts of Paris, Lille and Nice on Monday after a weekend of riots and looting linked to nationwide anti-government protests, as the government faced mounting criticism over security failures.
Torrential rain and flooding in eastern Spain have killed at least four people, forced thousands to evacuate and left tens of thousands of residents under shelter-in-place orders, as emergency crews rescued people stranded on rooftops.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level across both of his presidential terms, while Democrats have widened their lead over Republicans ahead of the 3 November congressional elections, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment