Two men have been found guilty of conspiring to set fire to properties and a car linked to Sir Keir Starmer, following a trial at the Old Bailey. Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were convicted by a jury of conspiracy to damage property by fire, with Lavrynovych also facing separate convictions for two specific arson attacks that endangered life.
The plot, directed by a Russian-speaking contact who went only by the pseudonym “El Money” – or “Hroshi” in Ukrainian – unfolded over five days in May last year. “El Money” communicated with the defendants primarily through the Telegram messaging app, exchanging hundreds of messages in the months leading up to the attacks. Lavrynovych was offered approximately £3,000 in cryptocurrency to carry out the arsons and to film the results for news coverage. Detailed instructions were provided on which targets to hit, how to mix flammable substances, and methods to avoid detection. The identity of “El Money” remains unknown and no charges have been brought against the individual.
The first attack took place on 8 May, when a Toyota Rav4 previously owned by Keir Starmer was set alight on Countess Road in Kentish Town, north London. Lavrynovych allegedly purchased white spirit as an accelerant from a B&Q store, and a third man, Petro Pochynok, was reportedly filming him after the car was torched. Three days later, on 11 May, a fire was reported at a house in Ellington Street, Islington, north London – a property managed by a company of which Starmer had previously been a director and shareholder. Lavrynovych was convicted of damaging this property by fire, being reckless as to whether life was endangered. The following day, 12 May, another house on Countess Road was deliberately set alight. That property still belonged to Starmer and was occupied by his sister-in-law and her family. The occupants were asleep at the time of the fire. Lavrynovych was convicted of damaging this property by fire, again being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
The prosecution argued that three fires over five days, all linked to Keir Starmer, were “beyond coincidence” and pointed to a planned and directed operation. All three men were arrested within a week of the attacks. During police questioning, Lavrynovych claimed he had never heard of Keir Starmer and did not know who the current British Prime Minister was, though he recognised Boris Johnson. He denied involvement initially, stating he was either at home or at a friend’s house during the incidents. He later admitted to setting the fires, saying he needed the cryptocurrency reward of £3,000 to pay for his father’s medical treatment, but insisted he acted only because of threats from “El Money”, who he said had threatened his grandmother’s safety. He also claimed he had no idea who owned the properties until after the fires.
The jury deliberated for seven and a half hours before reaching their verdicts. Petro Pochynok, 35, a Ukrainian national, was acquitted of conspiracy to damage property by fire. Mr Justice Garnham remanded Lavrynovych and Carpiuc into custody for sentencing on Friday.
Lavrynovych is Ukrainian, while Carpiuc is Romanian. Counter Terrorism Policing London, which led the investigation, said there was no indication that “El Money” represents a “state threat”. Commander Helen Flanagan stated that the motivation behind the attacks appeared to be financial rather than political or ideological, with the defendants acting as “criminal proxies”. However, she added that the intention was to “cause concern”, cause “disruption” within the UK community, and instil “fear” for the Prime Minister. The case is distinct from other recent incidents involving Russian actors, such as the Wagner Group’s arson attack on a Ukraine-linked warehouse in east London in March 2025, which did have links to Russian state interests. Separately, a Russian oligarch, Mikhail Fridman, is suing the UK under an Investor-State Dispute Settlement system, challenging sanctions imposed on him following the invasion of Ukraine – a different but related aspect of potential Russian state or oligarchic actions impacting the UK.
