Operation Destabilise: Inside a global crypto-laundering network

In the latest episode of Joining the Dots, Thomas speaks with Will Lyne, former Deputy Director and Head of Cyber Intelligence at the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), to unpack Operation Destabilise – a landmark investigation that revealed a sprawling crypto-based money laundering network used by drug gangs, cybercriminals, hostile states, and cartels around the world.

From blockchain traces to billions in illicit flows

It all began with blockchain analysis of ransomware payments. But what Will’s team uncovered was far bigger: a massive underground finance system connecting criminal and sanctioned actors across continents. At the centre was Smart, a Moscow-based crypto exchange led by Ekaterina Zhdanova (pictured) that enabled anonymous cash-for-crypto swaps – and helped bypass the global financial system entirely.

Disrupting a network that spanned every major Western jurisdiction

Over two years, the NCA built a detailed picture of how the network worked – from UK-based couriers to international controllers and high-level facilitators in Russia. They seized tens of millions in cash and crypto and coordinated with global partners to dismantle the network node by node.

But it wasn’t just about arrests; Will Lyne, on why disruption is becoming as important as prosecution:

“We need to recognise the changing nature of the threat… Arrests aren’t always possible or practical. That doesn’t mean we give up – it means we find new ways to counter it.”

The new face of organised crime

Crypto, stablecoins, decentralised money movement – the criminal world has adapted fast. Operation Destabilise shows how law enforcement is evolving too: using intelligence, technology, and international collaboration to outpace a borderless threat.

Listen now to the latest episode of Joining the Dots for an unprecedented look into how modern crime works and how it’s being confronted.