UK court jails two men over Starmer-linked arson plot tied to El Money

London,UPDATED: Jun 19, 2026 18:28 IST

A British court on Friday sentenced two men for setting fire to property linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in what prosecutors said was a plot directed by a Russian-speaking figure known as "El Money".

Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych, 22, was jailed for seven years, while Stanislav Carpiuc, a 27-year-old Romanian citizen, was sentenced to two years after they were found guilty of conspiracy to damage property by fire. Police have previously said the plot matched the pattern of Russian state-backed sabotage.

Prosecutors said the men targeted a car and two properties linked to Starmer over three nights in May 2025. El Money, whose identity was never revealed and who was not charged, communicated with Lavrynovych on Telegram.

The court heard that Carpiuc acted as a middleman. He was tasked with helping arrange payment, which never came, and with recruiting someone to film the fires.

Addressing Lavrynovych in court, Judge Justice Neil Garnham said he had agreed to carry out this "mindless piece of arson for money". He said Lavrynovych was to El Money a "useful idiot, a fool who could be manipulated to his advantage".

Garnham also told him: "You are not a man of great principle. And you were easily bought." He said Lavrynovych had a "significantly low level intellectual functioning" and was therefore vulnerable to manipulation.

Lavrynovych's defence lawyer, James Scobie, said his client was "low-hanging fruit" used by El Money to deliberately target the prime minister. He said Lavrynovych had brought shame on his family in Ukraine, where his father had worked with the military before he died.

Evidence presented during Lavrynovych's six-week trial showed that he had been tasked with setting and filming the fires over several days in May 2025. Prosecutors said El Money recruited him online and sent detailed instructions, including the locations of the targets and how to mix flammable liquids bought from a hardware store.

The attacks did not cause injuries or major damage. But Judith Alexander, Starmer's sister-in-law, said she was left "struggling to breathe" after smoke filled her house in the third attack. She and her family were staying at the residence, which had been Starmer's home before he became prime minister.

Cmdr Dominic Murphy, who led the initial investigation as head of the Metropolitan Police counterterrorism team before retiring in March, has previously said the case fit the description of Russian state-backed sabotage. He said police evidence showed El Money spoke Russian and was "likely to be in Russia". He added that El Money's methods were "very similar" to those used by Russian intelligence services operating in the UK, and that such plots often have "very senior sign-off".

Western officials have said Russia is carrying out a sabotage campaign against European countries that support Ukraine. The Associated Press has tracked at least 192 attacks across Europe since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, including arson, cyberattacks and attempted assassinations. Asked by AP in June whether Russia was waging a covert war against the West, President Vladimir Putin brushed the allegations aside.

Messages recovered from Lavrynovych's phone showed he had discussed other vandalism carried out for money, including painting the windscreens of cars black and putting up anti-Islam posters in Muslim areas of London. He was not charged over that activity, and Cmdr Helen Flanagan, the current head of the Metropolitan Police counterterrorism team, said it would be investigated.

The UK Home Office described the fires as an "abhorrent attack" and said those responsible had been brought to justice. It did not respond to requests for comment on whether the British government planned to attribute the fires to Russia. The case ended with prison terms for the two men, while the figure known as El Money remains unidentified and uncharged.

With PTI Inputs

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