Mystery ‘El Money’ figure offered to pay men to set fire to property linked to Starmer, court hears

Three defendants deny plotting arson attack on two homes and a car connected to prime minister in London last year A series of arson attacks on property linked to Keir Starmer was masterminded by a Russian-speaking contact using the pseudonym “El Money”, a court has heard. Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Petro Pochynok, 35, both from Ukraine, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, a Romanian national, sat with their heads bent towards interpreters as Duncan Atkinson KC, prosecuting, opened the trial over the arson attacks that took place in May last year. “Three fires in the same area within five days would be pretty unusual,” Atkinson told the jury. “However, three fires all involving property linked to the same person were beyond a coincidence.” Over five days last May, police were called to a fire at a house in north London connected to Starmer, another at a property nearby where he used to live and a blaze involving a car that also once belonged to the prime minister. Lavrynovych faces three counts of arson with intent to endanger life or being reckless as to whether life would be endangered. Pochynok and Carpiuc are also accused of conspiracy to commit arson. The men deny the charg