Two men were convicted in a London court on Tuesday for a series of arson attacks targeting properties linked to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were found guilty by a jury at the Old Bailey of conspiring to damage property by fire.

The offenses occurred overnight in May 2025 and involved two houses in Kentish Town, north London, as well as a vehicle previously owned by Starmer. One of the houses was managed by a company where Starmer once served as a director, while the other was his former home and the residence of his sister-in-law and her family. The perpetrators set fire to the front doors of both houses, actions prosecutors said endangered the occupants’ lives.

According to court testimony, Lavrynovych, a Ukrainian citizen residing in southeast London, was responsible for igniting all three fires. He was additionally convicted on two counts of arson reckless as to danger to life. Prosecutors detailed that Lavrynovych carried out reconnaissance prior to the attacks and photographed the resulting damage. Following the incidents, an individual using the pseudonym “El Money” advised him to leave London, citing the involvement of a “very high-ranking person in Britain.”

Carpiuc, a Romanian national, was identified as playing a coordination role, including planning aspects of the crimes and managing payment arrangements. The court was told that the two men had communicated extensively over several months via the encrypted messaging app Telegram, taking instructions from “El Money,” who offered financial compensation for carrying out the arson. Prosecutors maintained the motive was financial rather than political.

Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism policing for London, said the orchestrator aimed to spread fear but emphasized there was no indication that “El Money” represented a state-sponsored threat. An investigative report linked “El Money” to Russia and connected the figure to NoName, a prominent hacker group.

Following the verdict, Frank Ferguson, anti-terrorism chief for the Crown Prosecution Service, described the attacks as deliberate and dangerous acts of arson that posed significant risks to life. He affirmed that individuals committing criminal acts to advance their own or others’ agendas would face thorough investigation and robust prosecution.

Prime Minister Starmer characterized the attacks as assaults on democracy and the values upheld by the United Kingdom during a parliamentary statement. Sentencing for Lavrynovych and Carpiuc is scheduled for Friday.