A Russian-speaking contact named “El Money” paid three men to set fire to a car and two homes linked to the Prime Minister, a court has heard.
Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych allegedly set fire to a Toyota RAV4 in Kentish Town on May 8.
The 22-year-old then targeted a house three nights later, and, one night later, a home in Camden, where Sir Keir Starmer’s sister-in-law was living, an Old Bailey jury was told.
Co-defendants Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, and Ukrainian national Petro Pochynok, 35, conspired with Lavrynovych to set the blazes, with Carpiuc having recruited Pochynok to help Lavrynovych with the first fire while he oversaw planning and receiving payment, the trial heard.
Opening the trial on Wednesday, Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC 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.”
The prosecutor added: “Three fires in the same area within five days would be pretty unusual.
“However, three fires all involving property linked to the same person were beyond a coincidence. The RAV4 car had once belonged to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer.
“The house was managed by a company of which the Prime Minister had once been director and shareholder.
“The house in [Camden] still belonged to the Prime Minister, and was occupied by his sister-in-law.”
The three defendants were motivated by financial gain over ideology, the court was told.
Lavrynovych, Carpiuc, and Pochynok have not expressed political motivation in conspiring to set the fires, but they were offered payment by “El Money” on the Telegram messaging app, their trial heard.
Lavrynovych was told what to do and where to target by the anonymous Telegram user, the court was told.
Mr Atkinson told jurors: “It is no part of your considerations to decide who ‘El Money’ is and what reason he might have had to co-ordinate the actions of these defendants against these properties and this car associated with the Prime Minister.
“That is because you do not have to decide what motivated these three defendants.
“They have not demonstrated any particular political or ideological motivation, as opposed to a financial one.”
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?”
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 in Camden 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 the address in Camden, 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.
Later on May 8, Lavrynovych was captured on CCTV back in B&Q buying more accelerant and returning to Kentish Town to “finish the job” after complaining about the fire video quality, the court heard.
Another video of the fire being set on the doorstep of an address on May 11, allegedly by 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.
A 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,” the prosecutor said.
Mr Atkinson went on: “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 was adjourned until Thursday when it is due to continue.
