The head of the National Crime Agency (NCA), Graeme Biggar, has raised concerns about hostile states, including Russia and North Korea, exploiting organised crime gangs based in the UK to carry out illegal activities and steal money. In his speech outlining the agency’s annual assessment of crime threats to Britain, Biggar emphasised the emerging connections between serious and organized crime and these hostile states.
Biggar highlighted North Korea’s long-standing utilisation of cybercrime to steal funds and more recently engage in cryptocurrency-related activities. He also mentioned the Russian state’s tolerance of cybercrime groups operating within its borders and its links to oligarchs and their associates. Additionally, Biggar noted a recent development where hostile states have started using organized crime groups, which may not necessarily share the same nationality, as proxies. The NCA, along with MI5 and counter-terrorism policing, is closely monitoring this evolving trend.
