Tech
Russian money launderers bought a bank to disguise ransomware profit | Computer Weekly
A billion-dollar money laundering network active in the UK bought a bank in the Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan to facilitate the washing of profits from cyber crime and other criminal activity, and convert it into cryptocurrency that was used to evade sanctions on Russia in support of the Putin regime’s war on Ukraine, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
So-called cash-to-crypto swaps are a core part of the global criminal ecosystem. In 2024, the NCA and its European and North American partners came down hard on two full-service Russian-run money laundering networks, TGR and Smart, which washed money on behalf of multiple ransomware crews, including the likes of Evil Corp, Conti and Ryuk, in an ongoing series of actions dubbed Operation Destabilise.
In the past 12 months, Operation Destabilise has seen 45 suspected money launderers arrested and £5.1m in cash seized. Since its inception, 128 arrests and over £25m have been seized in cash and crypto assets in the UK, plus millions more abroad.
“Today, we can reveal the sheer scale at which these networks operate and draw a line between crimes in our communities, sophisticated organised criminals and state-sponsored activity,” said NCA deputy director for economic crime, Sal Melki.
“The networks disrupted through Destabilise operate at all levels of international money laundering, from collecting the street cash from drug deals, through to purchasing banks and enabling global sanctions breaches.”
The connection into Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet state sandwiched between Kazakhstan and China, was uncovered in August, when a company linked to TGR ringleader George Rossi, Altair Holding SA, was sanctioned in the UK as part of a crackdown on known Russian efforts to circumvent Western sanctions by exploiting the Kyrgyz financial system.
It can now be revealed that Altair bought a 75% stake in Kyrgyzstan-based Keremet Bank on 25 December 2024. The NCA has subsequently found that Keremet facilitated extensive cross-border payments on behalf of state-owned Promsvyazbank.
Promsvyazbank, which was nationalised by the Russian government in 2018, was also sanctioned by the US and UK following the invasion of Ukraine, and has been accused of links to Russian attempts to rig elections in Moldova through the populist, pro-Russian politician and oligarch Ilon Shor, who also orchestrated the theft of over $1bn from the country’s banking system in 2014.
Shor’s A7 company at one time collaborated with Promsvyazbank on the launch of a rouble-backed cryptocurrency stablecoin, A7A5, and networks linked to the firm have likely been designed to allow cross-border payments to circumvent sanctions in support of Russia’s military-industrial complex, said the NCA.
Beyond ransomware
It was cyber crime, specifically the network’s links to Evil Corp and bitcoin payments made by its victims, that first led the NCA and its partners to the activity, when they spotted the profits of ransomware attacks going into an individual crypto exchange account that was linked to UK-based money launderers it had already identified.
However, the activities of TGR and Smart extend into other areas of organised criminality across the UK, including the drugs and firearms trade and immigration fraud. The NCA would not, however, be drawn at this stage on any involvement in its other investigations into cyber criminal activity or any of the major cyber attacks that have unfolded this year in the UK.
Besides funnelling these funds into propping up Russia’s war on Ukraine – the agency described a “clear thread” between small-time Friday night cocaine deals in UK bars and clubs to Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian civilians – the network also made money available to wealthy Russians living in the West as a concierge service, and even incorporated some of it back into the UK banking system through traditionally cash-rich businesses, such as small building firms.
The identified and arrested individuals linked to money laundered through the network include two Russian nationals who bought cars and vans in the UK, shipped them to Ukraine and sold them to the Ukrainian government, which was unaware it was funding its enemy’s war effort.
Operation Destabilise also ensnared a number of Brits, such as Scottish footballer James Keatings, who investigators witnessed transferring boxes of cash from a van during a June 2024 handover of almost £400,000.
Keatings, a former member of Celtic’s youth development programme who went on to play for both Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian during his career, was jailed for 13 months earlier this year after he admitted possessing and transferring criminal property at Falkirk Sheriff Court.
Like Keatings, many of the network’s UK operatives were mules tasked by the network’s “managers” with driving all over the country to pick up cash from lower-level criminals.
They have been targeted by NCA poster campaigns in locations they frequent, often in motorway service station toilets. The NCA said its objective had been to “make these courier networks sweat”, and it has seen some success in scaring them off.
“Millions of Britons will have seen these messages at service stations, but rest assured, they were not for you,” said Melki. “To the launderers who will have seen them, your choice is simple: either stop this line of work, or prepare to come face to face with one of our officers and the reality of your choices. Easy money leads to hard time.”
I tried the battery version, which does require you recharge it every couple of weeks, but the wired-in version is the top recommendation on our guide to the Best Video Doorbells.
A Better Birdhouse
I had a new-to-me problem this spring: bird invasion. A little bird made a nest in my front-door wreath without us noticing. One evening, my sister opened the door, and the bird flew out of the nest and straight into our house. After a 30-minute battle to get it outside again (and keep my cat from eating it), it wasn’t until we saw the bird fly off the door again the next day that we realized it was calling our home its home, too.
If this is a common problem at your house, our resident bird-gear tester Kat Merck has a solution: a smart nesting box. Birdfy makes a few different smart bird feeders we like for bird-watching, and the Nest Duo is a birdhouse that lets you watch the birds while they nest inside of it. It’s a slim, attractive box that will add to your front yard’s style while also packing two solar-powered cameras (one facing the entrance, one focused inside) so you can bird-watch from multiple angles. It comes with different hole sizes to appeal to different species, metal predator guards to prevent chewing around the hole, and a remote control to reset or recharge the camera without disturbing your feathered neighbors.
Stylish Smart Lights
Govee
Outdoor Clear Bulb String Lights
I’ve liked Govee’s smart outdoor string lights before, usually for my holiday decor, and have previously recommended something similar with a bistro-light-like look that happened to be smart. These clear bulb string lights are part of Govee’s current lineup and have a contemporary twist with a triangle in the center instead of the wire filament. These are a fun option for outdoor lights you can enjoy on warm nights, and they can do every color and shade of white without looking as bulky as permanent outdoor lights. (Added bonus, these lights are also Matter compatible!)
Fresh Bulbs
Cync
Smart LED Light Bulb, PAR38
If you have light fixtures you want to remote-control, add an outdoor smart bulb. There are tons to choose from, and you can usually find one from any brand you already have at home. The only downside is that outdoor-rated smart bulbs are usually 4.75-inch-diameter PAR38-style bulbs, so they’re best for downward-facing floodlights on your porch or balcony. They’ll likely be too big to fit in a wall fixture as a replacement for a normal-sized bulb. Don’t just grab any smart bulb—not all are outdoor-rated. Check for mentions of outdoor use and waterproof ratings to make sure they’re safe to use. I’m a big fan of Cync bulbs, and the brand has an outdoor version of the Cync Full Color bulbs I like to use indoors. You’ll be able to add fun colors as well as shades of white, so you can turn the porch a spooky orange or red for Halloween, pink for Valentine’s Day, or the colors of your favorite sports team on game day.
Remote-Controlled Garage
If your garage is the centerpiece of your home’s curb appeal, you can control it as easily as a smart door by adding a smart controller. You can do two different styles: I have the Chamberlain MyQ professionally installed smart garage opener, which means the device that controls my garage has these smarts built into it (plus a camera, but I find it doesn’t work great with how far the device is from my Wi-Fi router), or you can get a smart garage controller that can add smart features onto an existing garage door. Both let you check whether the garage is open or closed and operate it remotely, and you can add a video keypad that doubles as a video doorbell and can let you open or close the garage without your phone.
Smart Shades
The front of my home faces west, so it’s absolutely baking at the end of the day. What I need to add are some of our favorite smart shades to automate closing the shades on that side of the house at the right time of day. These also give your home a nice, cohesive look and immediate, controllable privacy from the outside world. WIRED reviewer Simon Hill recommends the SmartWings shades as his top picks, and Lutron’s Caseta shades if you’re looking for a more upgraded look.
Invisible Swaps
Looking to add some smarts without touching your existing setup? These switch-ups can make your front door and yard smart without being visible.
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April might be springtime in the northern hemisphere, but some of the best streaming services seem to think it’s the perfect time for a dry run of spooky season. How else to explain the arrival of some exquisitely dark slices of horror, like 28 Days Later: The Bone Temple arriving on Netflix, Weapons coming to Prime Video, or Shelby Oaks landing on Hulu? If you prefer your off-season Halloween viewing to be in the vein of campy B movies rather than serious scares though, horror specialist Shudder has you covered with Deathstalker, a gloriously cheesy reboot of a near-forgotten ’80s series.
Reality is often scarier than fiction though, as shown by Louis Theroux’s Inside the Manosphere—his first documentary film with Netflix, exploring the dark side of social media and the world of toxic male influencers. (Be sure to read our interview with the filmmaker.) And if the thought of that leaves you wanting something a bit more wholesome to watch, thankfully Zootopia 2 has popped up on Disney+—and there’s even a rabbit in that, for some appropriately springtime imagery.
Here are WIRED’s picks of the best movies to watch right now.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
The fourth film in the long-running postapocalyptic horror series switches focus from rampaging rage zombies to a more dangerous threat: humans. OK, OK, “people are the real monsters” isn’t a hot take for the genre, but The Bone Temple offers a unique twist, with 28 Years Later survivor Spike (Alfie Williams) trapped in the company of a murderous gang led by deranged satanist “Sir Lord” Jimmy Crystal (Sinners’ Jack O’Connell). The villain is modeled on disgraced British TV presenter Jimmy Savile, whose sexual abuse crimes hadn’t been revealed by the time of the initial outbreak in 28 Days Later, adding a dash of real-world terror.
As the group stalks what remains of the English countryside, Spike’s only hope might be Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), whose experiments on curing alpha zombie Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) might hold humanity’s last hope. Although best watched back to back with its predecessor for the full, horrifying picture, director Nia DaCosta’s chapter stands on its own—and earns bonus points for one of the best uses of Iron Maiden’s “Number of the Beast” in film history.
Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere
It’s the silence that does the trick; British documentarian Louis Theroux always knows when not to speak and instead let his subject expose themselves for the world to see. It’s a masterful technique whether Theroux is investigating the Westboro Baptist Church or UFO conspiracy theorists, but it is rarely put to better use than in his latest outing: exploring the online “manosphere” subculture of self-appointed “alphas” offering toxic advice on how to be a “real man.” Speaking with key figures in the loosely defined movement, Theroux’s mild-mannered approach often leaves them to do most of the talking, exposing shockingly misogynistic and extremist views. Even more distressing? The quiet revelation that for many of them their performative masculinity is all just one big grift, and how they rationalize the harm they cause in pursuit of a payout. Depressing but compelling viewing—not all men, but definitely all of these men.
Crime 101
Jewel thief Mike (Chris Hemsworth) is the best in the business, a meticulous planner who pulls off his heists without leaving a shred of evidence—much to the consternation of LAPD detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo), who doesn’t even know exactly who he’s hunting for a string of thefts. Elsewhere in the City of Angels, Sharon (Halle Berry) is an underappreciated VP at an insurance firm, frustrated at being passed over for promotion for years. She’s the perfect insider to help Mike orchestrate an elaborate $11 million diamond heist. But as Lou uncovers evidence connecting to Mike’s past, and the chaotic, violent biker Ormon (Barry Keoghan) aims to take the score for himself, even the most masterful planning can’t prevent everything spiraling dangerously out of control.
Kevin Weil, OpenAI’s former chief product officer who was recently tapped to build a new AI workspace for scientists, Prism, is leaving the company, WIRED has confirmed. Weil was previously an early executive leading product at Instagram.
OpenAI is also sunsetting Prism, which the company launched as a web app in January this year to give scientists a better way to work with AI. The company is folding the roughly 10-person team behind it into Thibault Sottiaux’s Codex team. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the changes, and tells WIRED this is part of the company’s effort to unify its business and product strategy. OpenAI has broader ambitions to turn Codex, its AI coding application, into an “everything app.”
Weil, who joined OpenAI in June 2024, announced last September that he would be starting a new initiative inside of the company called “OpenAI for Science.” Now, OpenAI is dispersing those employees throughout the company’s product, research, and infrastructure teams. An OpenAI spokesperson reiterated the company’s commitment to accelerating scientific discovery, and says it’s one of the clearest ways AI can benefit humanity.
OpenAI is currently trying to refocus the company around a few key areas, such as enterprise offerings and coding. Last month, OpenAI’s CEO of AGI deployment Fidji Simo told staff that the company needs to simplify its product offerings. The push to divert resources to more consequential efforts resulted in OpenAI discontinuing its Sora video-generation app.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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