A British man accused of acting as a Russian spy while orchestrating an arson attack on Ukraine-linked business in London is set to stand trial at the Old Bailey next summer.
Dylan James Earl, 20, carried out reconnaissance of targets, recruitment, and fraud in a bid to provide useful information to Moscow, it is said.
He was allegedly taking instructions from the Wagner Group, a private paramilitary organisation proscribed under UK law as a terror group which has strong ties to the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Earl was allegedly the architect of an arson attack on two industrial units in Staffa Road, Leyton, east London on March 20.
Ukrainian-linked businesses owned by companies Oddisey and Meest UK are said to have been the target of the fire, which took 60 firefighters more than four hours to bring under control.
Earl, who hails from the small village of Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire, appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday, charged alongside co-defendants Nii Kojo Mensah, 21, from Thornton Heath, Paul Adrian English, 60, from Putney, and Jake Reeves and Dmitrijus Paulauska, both 22, from Croydon.
All defendants apart from Paulauska are accused of aggravated arson, while Reeves is accused of taking money from Russia and Paulauska allegedly failed to disclose to police information about terrorist acts.
Earl appeared at the hearing in front of Mr Justice Jeremy Baker via a videolink from maximum security HMP Belmarsh. He spoke only to confirm his identity.
Paulauska, who is on bail, appeared in the dock, while the other three defendants were absent.
The court was told English has been “taken ill” and transported to hospital this morning, while Mensah and Reeves were late being brought to court from prison.
The judge listed the case for an eight-week trial starting on June 2, 2025. A plea hearing is due to take place on October 4.
After news emerged of the charges last month, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) summoned Russia’s ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin for a meeting.
“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”, said an FCDO spokesperson.
“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.”
The Wagner Group was made a proscribed terrorist organisation in September last year, after playing an instrumental role in Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The former leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, died in a plane crash last summer after his troops staged a short-lived coup against Moscow.
According to the charges, Earl, Reeves, Mensah, and English are accused of aggravated arson while “intending to destroy such property and being reckless as to whether life would be endangered”.
Earl is charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service between 20 December 2021 and 18 April this year by allegedly “agreeing to undertake fraudulent activity, research and reconnaissance of targets, and attempting to recruit individuals to assist” with “conduct to materially assist a foreign intelligence service carrying out UK-related activities”.
He is also facing a charge of preparatory conduct between February and mid-April.
Reeves is accused of accepting a material benefit – money – from a foreign intelligence service, and Paulauska is charged with failure to disclose information about terrorist acts.
Paulauska was released on bail under strict conditions, including a 10pm to 9am curfew, surrendering his passport, not trying to leave the UK, reporting to police each week, not contacting co-defendants, and controls over his use of the internet.
The other four defendants were remanded into custody.