The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has uncovered a major cash-to-crypto laundering network used by Russian intelligence services to secretly channel funds to a convicted espionage cell operating in Britain.
The revelation links billion-dollar illicit finance pipelines to geopolitical interference, organized crime, and state-sponsored covert activity across dozens of UK towns and cities.
Smart Network and Jan Marsalek Connection
According to reporting from Bloomberg, the NCA found that Russian businesswoman Ekaterina Zhdanova, head of the so-called “Smart” network, played a central role in laundering cash through crypto on behalf of individuals connected to Russian intelligence. Her network helped move funds to a spy ring tied to Jan Marsalek, the former Wirecard executive who fled in 2020 and is widely believed to be working for Russian intelligence.
The laundering network was dismantled nearly a year after UK authorities broke up two major “Russian laundromats” responsible for moving billions of pounds globally.
Financing Espionage Operations
In the newly disclosed investigation, the NCA found that Smart’s cash-to-crypto channels were used to finance six Bulgarian nationals who were later convicted in the UK for espionage and sentenced to prison terms of up to 10 years.
Marsalek, who vanished during Wirecard’s collapse and allegedly operated as a Kremlin asset, spent as much as £45,000 on operations carried out by the spy cell. These operations reportedly included surveillance of journalists and politicians, and, in some cases, plotting violent acts, according to the investigation.
Broader Ecosystem and Geopolitical Impact
Zhdanova’s laundering networks formed part of a broader ecosystem that converted large volumes of illicit cash into cryptocurrency, enabling sanctioned individuals, criminal groups, and foreign intelligence operatives to mask financial trails.
UK authorities say activity linked to the network touched at least 28 towns and cities across the country.
The NCA’s findings expose how Russia’s intelligence services blended modern fintech tools with conventional criminal laundering methods to finance covert operations in Europe. Officials say more arrests and asset seizures could follow as investigations tied to the Smart and TGR networks continue.