A London court handed down guilty verdicts Monday against two men charged in connection with a scheme to burn properties belonging to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The arson attacks took place in May 2025 and caused damage to the home Starmer had lived in before becoming prime minister, an apartment building he once had partial ownership of, and completely destroyed his former Toyota SUV. No injuries were reported.
Authorities say the plot was masterminded by a mysterious individual who communicated in Russian and went by the alias “El Money.” This person reached out to Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych through the Telegram messaging app, offering him cryptocurrency in exchange for torching the properties and filming the destruction to post online for maximum visibility.
Despite the investigation, El Money’s true identity was never determined and no charges were filed against the figure. Cmdr. Helen Flanagan, who leads the counterterrorism unit at the Metropolitan Police, said investigators found no proof that a hostile foreign government was behind the fires, as they were unable to establish El Money’s motive or employer.
“Clearly the tasking was to intimidate and create fear for the prime minister and to attack the U.K.,” Flanagan stated.
Lavrynovych, 22, and Stanislav Carpiuc, a 27-year-old Romanian citizen, were found guilty at London’s Central Criminal Court of conspiring to destroy property through arson. A third defendant, Petro Pochynok, 35, was cleared of the same charge.
Lavrynovych also faced and was convicted on two separate counts of arson that could have recklessly put lives at risk.
During the proceedings, Lavrynovych admitted to starting the fires, saying he was desperate for money. He said he was motivated by a promised reward of 3,000 pounds — roughly $4,000 in cryptocurrency — which he intended to use to cover medical costs for his father. He also claimed El Money had threatened him, and that he had no knowledge of who owned the properties until after the fires were set. He told investigators he had no idea who Starmer even was.
El Money had given Lavrynovych specific instructions on the target locations, directions on how to prepare flammable mixtures, and guidance on how to avoid detection.
Messages found on Lavrynovych’s phone revealed discussions about the fires, as well as other paid acts of vandalism he had carried out — including blacking out car windshields with paint and posting anti-Islam materials in Muslim neighborhoods throughout London.
Following the attacks, El Money told Lavrynovych payment was coming and instructed him to send a coded message using the word “geranium” if he was ever stopped by police. Lavrynovych was arrested shortly after receiving that message. The court was informed he never actually received any payment for carrying out the three fires.
Carpiuc served as a go-between in the scheme, while Pochynok was allegedly brought in to record video of the fires so Lavrynovych could collect his payment.
The fires were set in the middle of the night. Residents who had been asleep were jolted awake to find smoke pouring through their front doors.
Starmer’s sister-in-law, who was staying at his former home, said she heard a loud bang and had difficulty breathing as smoke overtook the stairwell. Her 9-year-old daughter was left terrified by the ordeal.
A resident of the apartment building was forced to retreat to the rooftop after finding the hallways engulfed in smoke.
Sentencing for both convicted men is scheduled for Friday.
