A series of arson attacks on property linked to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer were orchestrated by a Russian-speaking contact called “El Money” who promised payment in cryptocurrency, a court has heard.
Ukrainians Roman Lavrynovych, 22, Petro Pochynok, 35, and Romanian Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, are accused of plotting the series of fires in north London last spring on the orders of the Telegram contact.
Opening their Old Bailey trial on Wednesday, prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC told jurors that three fires over five days, all linked to Sir Keir, went “beyond coincidence”.
Last May 8, a Toyota Rav4 car which once belonged to the Prime Minister was allegedly set alight on Countess Road in Kentish Town.
Three nights later, a blaze was reported at a house in nearby Ellington Street which was managed by a company of which the Prime Minister had once been a director and shareholder, the court was told.
In the early hours of last May 12, another house on Countess Road was deliberately set alight, jurors heard.
Mr Atkinson said that property still belonged to the Prime Minister and was occupied by his sister-in-law.
Lavrynovych allegedly set fire to the front door of each of the two houses “in the dead of night” using white spirit or similar when the occupants were asleep.
Mr Atkinson said: “The prosecution’s case is that when he did so he must have intended to endanger – to risk – the lives of the people living inside those houses.
“Why else would you set fire to the front door, blocking the residents’ escape?”
The arson attacks were “planned and directed” and involved the “promised payment” in cryptocurrency by a contact called “El Money”, jurors heard.
Lavrynovych was told what to do and where to target by the anonymous Telegram user, the court was told.
Jurors were shown CCTV footage allegedly showing him buying white spirit at a B&Q in south-east London two days before the car was set on fire.
Later that day, Lavrynovych messaged Carpiuc saying: “I’m waiting, bitch, listen, it’s an ordinary car” and searched for an address on Countess Road where the vehicle was parked, the court heard.
The jury was shown messages between Carpiuc and Lavrynovych allegedly discussing payment and deleting their messaging history.
The court heard that at 11.47pm last May 7, Lavrynovych messaged Pochynok: “Hello. It’s on.”
He then set off from home and travelled by bus to Countess Road, where the vehicle was parked, jurors heard.
An image from a video allegedly showing Lavrynovych standing in front of a burning Toyota Rav4 was shown in court.
The woman who bought the Prime Minister’s car in September 2024 was woken to a “commotion” in the street and looked out of her window to see the fire at 2.53am.
Initially, the blaze was not thought to be suspicious but after the other fires police seized the vehicle for examination by scientists, who found the fire was most likely deliberate, jurors heard.
A video of the fire being set on the doorstep of an address in Ellington Street on May 11, allegedly by Roman Lavrynovych, was shown in court.
The prosecution said that an accelerant was poured on the doorstep, and the video showed a match being thrown on to it, starting a blaze on the doorstep.
Mr Atkinson said that the resident of the top-floor flat was woken by the smell of smoke about half an hour later and escaped to the roof to call the fire brigade.
“The fire had spread inside the building and into the hallway of these premises made up of four flats, posing you may think an obvious risk to those inside.” said Mr Atkinson.
Mr Atkinson said: “Lavrynovych had been offered payment to set the fires by a contact using the name or pseudonym ‘El Money’.
“‘El Money’ communicated in Russian, in contrast to the Ukrainian otherwise used by the defendants.”
Mr Atkinson said Lavrynovych may claim that he was “pressured” into carrying out the attacks by a “shadowy figure who threatened him and his family if he did not comply”.
However, more than 300 messages between Lavrynovych and “El Money” were recovered indicating a “good working relationship” spanning seven months and a willingness to recruit others, he said.
Mr Atkinson added: “It also underlines that the motivation for these activities was not fear, but financial reward.”
After the arson attacks had taken place, El Money encouraged Lavrynovych to flee London, the court heard.
El Money sent a message saying: “Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I’ll send you money, you need to leave the city. If the police detain you, secretly write the word, ‘geranium’ and I’ll send a lawyer to you, I’ll give you money for a week and a new phone. We won’t be in touch for a week.”
Jurors heard they would not need to decide on a motivation, or the true identity of El Money.
Mr Atkinson said: “It does not matter whether they knew that the property they were targeting was connected to the Prime Minister or whether that formed part of their motivation.”
The defendants are charged with conspiracy to damage property by fire between April 1 and May 13 last year.
Lavrynovych is also charged with damaging two properties by fire with intent to endanger life or being reckless as to whether life was endangered on May 11 and 12 last year.
Lavrynovych, of Lewisham, south-east London, Carpiuc, from Romford, east London, and Pochynok, of Islington, north London, have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
The trial before Mr Justice Garnham is expected to continue until the end of May.
