LONDON (Dispatches) — A group of oligarchs under investigation by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) employed private spies to secretly surveil former prosecutors who had led some of the nation’s most sensitive financial crime cases, according to newly obtained documents and images.
The surveillance, beginning in 2019, targeted individuals who had played key roles in a high-profile SFO inquiry into suspected corruption and fraud involving the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), a mining giant backed by billions of dollars from the Kremlin. The investigation was eventually dropped in 2023 amid legal setbacks.
The Guardian newspaper said it has acquired photographs showing former prosecutors being followed and their homes monitored by operatives hired by the oligarchs. One image depicts Tom Martin, a former senior SFO prosecutor, standing outside his home on a day when he was taking his young son to a football match.
“It’s an attack on the rule of law,” Martin said after seeing the images. “We’re not fair game.”
The operation was reportedly orchestrated by Dmitry Vozianov, a Russian consultant with ties to the oligarchs, who hired private intelligence firms staffed by former military and intelligence personnel, including Damian Ozenbrook, a decorated British ex-paratrooper.
The spies’ objectives were to gather information about the SFO’s investigative methods, identify confidential sources, and obtain compromising material to gain leverage over the agency. Although the oligarchs’ lawyers acknowledged the surveillance, they insisted that any investigations were lawful and part of legal efforts to defend against the SFO.
Among those monitored was James Coussey, a respected prosecutor who spent years on the ENRC case before retiring. Coussey has since died. “He was one of the most upright lawyers I ever met,” said Martin.
The ENRC investigation exposed the challenges faced by Britain’s top fraud watchdog as it pursued powerful, well-funded defendants backed by foreign state interests. The oligarchs, whose wealth was linked to former Soviet power structures, used a web of legal actions and private intelligence tactics to counter the inquiry.
The SFO confirmed it was aware of the risks posed by such surveillance but emphasized that the reported spying involved former employees, not current staff. The agency cited the safety and wellbeing of its personnel as a top priority.
The revelations raise broader questions about the regulation of private intelligence operations in the UK and the influence of foreign actors on domestic law enforcement efforts.