UK drug funds flowed into bank tied to Russian spy services, military

Investigators at the U.K.’s National Crime Agency say cash generated by Britain’s local drug trade was funnelled through a bank connected to the Kremlin’s intelligence services and sanctioned defense sector, expanding the known scope of a vast Russian money laundering network uncovered last year.

The agency said on Friday that ‘Operation Destabilise’ investigators identified a growing number of entities linked to the two major laundering networks — SMART and TGR — including a spy ring imprisoned in Britain back in May.

Six Bulgarian nationals were sentenced to a combined 50 years for surveilling various targets selected by Russia’s intelligence services, including Ukrainian troops training in Germany and journalists who had written unfavourably about Moscow.

Read more at The Record