The Old Bailey trial revealed a conspiracy tied to Russian agents directing local criminals to attack Yevgeny Chichvarkin, owner of Hide restaurant, exposing the depths of espionage and sabotage in Europe.**
Russian Plot Targeting London Restaurant Exposed in Court Proceedings**
Russian Plot Targeting London Restaurant Exposed in Court Proceedings**
Criminal activity linked to Russian intelligence operatives aimed at kidnapping a dissident and destroying a Michelin-starred eatery.**
In a shocking revelation from the Old Bailey courthouse, it was unveiled that a criminal gang in the UK was allegedly operating under directions from Russian intelligence agents to plot the demise of Yevgeny Chichvarkin, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin and owner of the acclaimed Michelin-starred restaurant, Hide, located in London's affluent Mayfair.
Since its debut in 2018, Hide, renowned for its elegant design and extensive wine selection, made headlines when the gang's dire intentions were brought to light last year. The group was reportedly instructed to kidnap Chichvarkin and set his restaurant as well as a related wine shop ablaze. Fortunately, law enforcement intercepted their plans before execution. However, the gang had already managed to burn a Ukrainian-owned warehouse in East London earlier in March 2024.
A mountain of communications found on seized devices, disclosed during an extensive trial, delineated the links between Russian operatives and the British criminals employed for espionage and malicious acts across Europe. Cmdr. Dominic Murphy, leading the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, emphasized that this incident reveals a stark example of how the Russian state allegedly utilizes local 'proxies' to facilitate serious criminal enterprises within the United Kingdom.
As the trial unfolded, a jury reached verdicts on multiple defendants, convicting three individuals of arson related to the warehouse incident, while a fourth was found guilty of withholding information from authorities regarding threats directed at Chichvarkin and his business. The duo at the helm of the plot, Dylan Earl and Jake Reeves, had previously acknowledged their involvement in the alarming scheme.
Since its debut in 2018, Hide, renowned for its elegant design and extensive wine selection, made headlines when the gang's dire intentions were brought to light last year. The group was reportedly instructed to kidnap Chichvarkin and set his restaurant as well as a related wine shop ablaze. Fortunately, law enforcement intercepted their plans before execution. However, the gang had already managed to burn a Ukrainian-owned warehouse in East London earlier in March 2024.
A mountain of communications found on seized devices, disclosed during an extensive trial, delineated the links between Russian operatives and the British criminals employed for espionage and malicious acts across Europe. Cmdr. Dominic Murphy, leading the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, emphasized that this incident reveals a stark example of how the Russian state allegedly utilizes local 'proxies' to facilitate serious criminal enterprises within the United Kingdom.
As the trial unfolded, a jury reached verdicts on multiple defendants, convicting three individuals of arson related to the warehouse incident, while a fourth was found guilty of withholding information from authorities regarding threats directed at Chichvarkin and his business. The duo at the helm of the plot, Dylan Earl and Jake Reeves, had previously acknowledged their involvement in the alarming scheme.
