Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
LONDON – Two men who carried out a series of firebombings on a car and two homes linked to British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer have been convicted at the Old Bailey, in a case that prosecutors said was intended to intimidate the country’s leader and spread public fear. Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Stanislav Carpiuc, a 27-year-old Romanian citizen born in Ukraine, were found guilty on Monday, June 15, 2026, of conspiracy to damage property by fire. Lavrynovych was also convicted of two counts of committing arson with intent to endanger life or being reckless as to whether life was endangered. A third defendant, Petro Pochynok, 35, was acquitted of the conspiracy charge.
The attacks took place in May 2025. On May 8, a Toyota SUV once owned by Sir Keir was discovered on fire on a street in Kentish Town, north London, where the prime minister had previously lived. Three days later, on May 11, a fire was found at the entrance of a flat in nearby Islington where Sir Keir had once lived. The following day, May 12, a blaze was set at the entrance of Sir Keir’s Kentish Town home, which was being rented out to his sister-in-law. She was inside with her family, including her nine-year-old daughter, when the property was set alight. The occupants of the apartment building also awoke to smoke-filled hallways, with one resident forced to retreat to the roof. No one was injured in any of the attacks.
The prosecution told the court that Lavrynovych carried out the arson attacks after being recruited online by a Russian-speaking Telegram user who used the alias “El Money”. The handler promised payment in cryptocurrency for setting the fires and for filming video evidence of the attacks, which could be posted online to draw attention. The court heard that “El Money” provided Lavrynovych with detailed instructions on the targets, how to mix flammable substances, and steps to avoid being caught. Investigators were unable to identify “El Money” or determine his motives, and he was not charged. Commander Helen Flanagan, head of the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism command, said after the verdict, “Clearly the tasking was to intimidate and create fear for the prime minister and to attack the UK.”
Lavrynovych admitted setting the fires but said he was motivated by a desperate need for money to pay for his father’s medical treatment. He said he had been promised £3,000 in cryptocurrency, but he never received any payment. He also claimed that he acted under duress, saying that “El Money” had threatened him and that he felt intimidated. The court heard that Lavrynovych had previously carried out other acts of vandalism for money, including putting up far-right posters in London. Messages recovered from his phone revealed that after the final arson, “El Money” sent him 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.” The handler also gave him a secret code word, “geranium”, to use if he was detained by police. Lavrynovych was arrested hours after receiving that message.
Carpiuc was convicted for his role as a middleman in the conspiracy, while Pochynok was alleged to have been recruited to record video of the fires but was acquitted. None of the defendants were shown to have held any particular political or ideological motivation, and the court was told that it was irrelevant whether they knew the properties they were targeting were linked to the prime minister. Commander Flanagan said there was no evidence proving that a hostile state orchestrated the fires, as police did not discover the motivations or the people behind “El Money”. Nevertheless, the attacks were seen as a serious breach of security targeting the country’s leader.
The verdicts mark the conclusion of a highly unusual criminal case that has drawn attention to the vulnerability of senior political figures and the risks posed by online radicalisation and hired criminal proxies. The defendants had all denied the charges. They will be sentenced on Friday, June 19, 2026.
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