British man accused of being Wagner spy for Russia ‘led plot to burn down London building’

A British man accused of being a Wagner Group spy for Russia allegedly recruited two men to burn down a building in London linked to Ukraine.

Dylan James Earl, 20, from Leicestershire, appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court on Saturday April 20.

The CPS said Earl was accused of “targeting businesses which were linked to Ukraine in order to benefit the Russian state”.

It is claimed that between Dec 20 2021 and April 18 2024 he agreed to “undertake fraudulent activity, research and reconnaissance of targets” and attempted to “recruit individuals to assist with such activity, intending that conduct to materially assist a foreign intelligence service carrying out UK-related activities”.

Both of the businesses targeted are owned by a British-Ukrainian businessman, Mykhaylo Prykhodko, also known as Mikhail Boikov, and his wife Jelena Boikova.

The Wagner Group is a mercenary group set up by the Kremlin in 2014 to help prosecute its initial invasion of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

First charges under new National Security Act legislation

The group, which has undertaken missions as far as the Middle East and Africa, recruited from prisons, with the Ministry of Defence at one point estimating its total manpower may have peaked at around 50,000 fighters.

Earl is also accused of arson and preparing for an act that would endanger “the life of a person or an act creating a serious risk to the health or safety of the public in the United Kingdom”.

The investigation is related to a fire that broke out on an industrial estate on Staffa Road in Leyton in March 2024, which the prosecution said was started using an accelerant such as petrol.

Eight fire engines and 60 firefighters were called out to the blaze.

The charges do not specify who owns the businesses that were targeted – but Companies House records show they are two Ukrainian parcel delivery services: Oddisey and Meest UK.

The CPS said it was the first time they had charged individuals with offences under new legislation created by the National Security Act 2023.

After news emerged of the charge, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it had summoned Andrey Kelin, Russia’s ambassador to the UK.

An FCDO spokesman said: “The UK remains deeply concerned by allegations of Russian orchestrated malign activity on UK soil, as well as the wider reported pattern of behaviour we are witnessing on the part of the Russian Federation to sponsor such activity on the territory of other, sovereign states.

“We call for an immediate cessation of this activity and we will continue to work with our allies to deter and defend against the full spectrum of threats that emanate from Russia.”

Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, said he was “deeply concerned” by allegations of British nationals carrying out criminal acts in the UK to benefit Russia after police pressed charges against five men on Friday.

“We will use the full weight of the criminal justice system to hold anyone found guilty of crimes linked to foreign interference to account,” he said.

James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, said: “Hostile foreign acts will never be tolerated on UK soil. Our National Security Act has allowed charges to be brought against individuals alleged to be carrying out harmful activity that assists the Russian state. If you threaten UK security, you will face justice.”

Earl ‘hired men to commit attack’

Judge Daniel Sternberg initially put reporting restrictions in place to prevent the identification of Mr Earl, his co-accused, and the details of their alleged crimes.

Those have now been lifted and it can be reported that two other men, Paul English, 60, and Nii Kojo Mensah, 21, have been charged with aggravated arson in relation to the case.

Mr English, of Roehampton, south-west London, and Mr Mensah, of Thornton Heath, south-east London, spoke only to confirm their names and addresses when they appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court on Monday.

David Cawthorne, prosecuting, said Mr English had been recruited by Mr Earl, along with two other men, to participate in an attack on the building.

The court was told there was “no suggestion at this point in time” that Mr Mensah and Mr English knew why the property was being targeted.

Significant fire ‘caused serious damage’

Mr Cawthorne said the men allegedly committed the crime “because they were willing to engage in a serious criminal enterprise for financial gain”.

The court heard Mr English collected Mr Mensah and drove to the location of a “commercial premises” in London. The prosecutor said that CCTV showed the building after it had allegedly been set alight.

Mr Cawthorne added: “There happened to be a lorry driver asleep in his cab right next to the commercial premises. He was alerted and called the emergency services. This was a significant fire causing serious damage, a number of fire units attended and the fire service were able to put it out.”

Mr English, Mr Mensah and Mr Earl were remanded in custody ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing at the Old Bailey on May 10.

Two other men charged appeared at Westminster yesterday. Jake Reeves, 22, is charged with agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service as well as aggravated arson. Dmitrijus Paulauska, 22, is charged with having information about terrorist acts.

Janet Newbold, for the prosecution, said of Mr Reeves’s alleged offences: “This arson was an organised and planned attack in return for a substantial payment.”

Mr Paulauska was granted conditional bail, and will join Mr Reeves at the Old Bailey next month, along with the three other defendants.

The court heard that Mr Paulauska, of Croydon, was a third-year aircraft engineering student at Kingston University, and that he has a pilot’s licence and undertakes weekly work experience at Biggin Hill Airport.

A neighbour of Mr Reeves claimed that he regularly went riding on his motorbike with Mr Paulauska. He said: “[Paulauska] used to pull up on the road and they’d go off together on their bikes. That was every weekend and some evenings. And it got more and more regular.”

Nick Price, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “Dylan Earl, 20, is alleged to have engaged in conduct targeting businesses which were linked to Ukraine in order to benefit the Russian state.

“Included in the alleged activity was involvement in the planning of an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked commercial property in March 2024.”

Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, which is leading the investigation, said: “This is a highly significant moment and investigation for us.

“It is the first time we have arrested and charged anyone using the powers and legislation brought in under the National Security Act.”