Two men have been arrested for burning property linked to the UK Prime Minister | Crime Stories

Ukrainian-born men with alleged links to Russia searched sites linked to Keir Starmer in May 2025.

Two men have been jailed for a series of attacks on the property of the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The pair – Ukrainian-born Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27 – were paid to carry out the violence by a Russian-speaking man using the alias “El Money” through the Telegram messaging app, according to prosecutors.

Judge Neil Garnham said on Friday that Ukrainian Lavrynovych was a “useful idiot” who acted as a “threat” for “unknown reasons” that put lives at risk. Lavrynovych has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

“You agreed to take this reckless risk with money.” The judge added.

Romanian Carpiuc, who was born in Ukraine, aided and abetted Lavrynovych and was sentenced to two years in prison.

The men carried out overnight raids in May 2025 targeting London properties linked to Starmer – including the residence where his brother-in-law and his family lived – and a Toyota he previously owned.

He was was convicted by a jury on Monday of arson following a trial at the Old Bailey in London.

Lavrynovych, who the prosecution said started all three fires, was found guilty of two additional counts of arson without regard to danger to life.

Prosecutors said the perpetrators had no political motivation to commit the crimes, and their motive was financial.

EL Money contacted Lavrynovych in Russian and Ukrainian, and prosecutors have not said who or what they believe created the account. Lavrynovych told the court he did not know who he was looking at, while the court was shown messages in which El Money told Lavrynovych he had to flee the UK after making threats at the home of “the highest-ranking person in Britain”.

The BBC reported that El Money is a “young Russian diplomat” who is 23 years old and “the son of a great man.”

UK police said there was no direct evidence linking the two men to Russia, while the Russian embassy in London rejected allegations of any Russian involvement, saying Moscow was not a threat to the security of the United Kingdom.

Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said after the verdict that the expert wanted to “create fear” even though there was no evidence that El Money was “a threat to the state”.

Speaking after the pair were found guilty, Starmer welcomed the verdicts. He said that the series of threats “must be seen in its many dimensions”, pointing to Ukraine’s “success” in the war and Western sanctions that “affect Russia”.