Three men guilty of UK arson attack on Ukraine-linked businesses ordered by Wagner

By Sam Tobin and Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) -Three men were found guilty on Tuesday over an arson attack on Ukraine-linked businesses in London which British officials said had been ordered by Russia's Wagner mercenary group and was the latest malign activity conducted on behalf of Moscow in Britain.

Ringleader Dylan Earl, 21, had already pleaded guilty to aggravated arson over the 2024 blaze, which targeted companies delivering satellite equipment from Elon Musk's Starlink to Ukraine. Starlink and the satellite devices are vital for Ukraine's defence against Russia's continuing invasion.

Earl also became the first person convicted under the National Security Act when he admitted his role in a plot targeting a wine shop and restaurant in London's upmarket Mayfair district, with plans to kidnap the owner, a high-profile critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Jake Reeves, 23, also pleaded guilty before trial to aggravated arson and a National Security Act charge of obtaining a material benefit from a foreign intelligence agency.

A jury at London's Old Bailey court on Tuesday convicted three other men - Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, Jakeem Rose, 23, and Ugnius Asmena, 20 - of aggravated arson, though they had denied the charge. It cleared a fourth man, Paul English, 61.

Ashton Evans, 20, and Dmitrijus Paulauskas, 23, denied two counts of knowing about terrorist acts but failing to disclose the information. Evans was convicted of one charge and cleared of a second, while Paulauskas was acquitted of both charges – bursting into tears and nodding towards the jury.

The convictions are the latest involving allegations of malign activity by Moscow in Britain, after a group of Bulgarians was convicted in March of being directed by Wirecard fugitive Jan Marsalek to spy for Russian intelligence.

In recent years, London has accused Russia or its agents of being behind spy plots and sabotage missions in Britain and across Europe, with the British domestic spy chief saying Russian operatives were trying to cause "mayhem".

The Kremlin has denied the accusations, and its embassy in London has rejected any part in the warehouse fire, saying the British government repeatedly blames Russia for anything "bad" that happens in Britain.

MORE 'PROXIES'

British authorities say that, since the expulsion of Russian spies following the 2018 poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, Moscow has had to rely mainly on criminals motivated by financial gain, or those with existing grievances, to carry out activities on its behalf.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the London police's Counter Terrorism Command, said both plots involving Earl showed "the Russian state projecting activity into the United Kingdom".

He said Russia and other states such as Iran had adapted to British authorities' response to hostile activity, with some 20% of counterterrorism police's work coming from foreign states.

"We've made the UK a hostile operating environment for those governments but, as a result, they've diversified and are now contacting relatively young people to act on their behalf as proxies in doing their activity," Murphy said.

Earl – who, along with Evans, also pleaded guilty to dealing cocaine – exchanged hundreds of messages with an apparent Wagner handler who encouraged him to find links with soccer hooligans, Irish republican militants and high-profile criminal groups.

Earl also expressed a desire to fight for Wagner, a proscribed terrorist group in Britain which was heavily engaged in the earlier stages of Russia's war in Ukraine, until its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, led a short-lived mutiny against Russia's defence establishment in 2023.

Earl's contact used the name "Privet Bot" on Telegram and reporting by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and others last year said the account had been advertised on Grey Zone, a channel affiliated with Wagner.

Commander Murphy said he was confident that "it was Wagner and it is the Russian state tasking these individuals".

Murphy also said he expected further similar actions from criminals acting as state proxies.

(Reporting by Sam TobinEditing by Michael Holden and Gareth Jones)