Wagner Group arsonist ordered to pay £164,000 to Ukraine aid victims

Dylan Earl has been ordered by the Old Bailey to pay more than £164,000 to victims of an arson attack that destroyed a warehouse storing aid for Ukraine. The fire, which occurred on March 20, 2024, in Leyton, east London, caused approximately £1 million in damage.

Earl, 22, admitted aggravated arson and a charge under the National Security Act. He was identified as a key figure in a planned campaign of terrorism and sabotage conducted in the interests of the Russian state, acting as a proxy for the Wagner Group. The targeted warehouse was being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.

Confiscation Hearing

Appearing via videolink from Whitemoor jail, Earl faced a confiscation hearing before Judge Mark Lucraft KC. It was established that his total ill-gotten gains amounted to £698,816.18. However, the court determined that £164,301.13 was available for confiscation, including funds held in a cryptocurrency account.

The judge ordered this sum to be paid as compensation to the victims. Meest UK Ltd was awarded £163,521, and the owner of the adjacent Neck Stamper brewery, whose premises were also damaged by fire, received £780. Earl has been given three months to pay the money, with a default penalty of 18 months in prison if he fails to comply.

Last October, Earl, who was described as a drug dealer from Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, was sentenced to 17 years in prison, with an additional six years on extended licence, for his significant role in the terrorist activities. Evidence found during his arrest in a B&Q car park in Hinckley, Leicestershire, included videos of the fire being started on his iPhone, a Russian flag, over £20,000 in cash, and cocaine with a street value of £34,000.