Back in June 2019, I was served with a legal threat – a 'letter before court action' I think they call it in the world of law – by a law firm (Woods Whur) representing Yuri Lopatinsky (also known as Yuriy Lopatynskyy). The legal threat followed the publication of a report I wrote in February 2019 called '$cottish $camon' which was featured in The Ferret and The Sunday National. The letter was dated 30 May 2019 but it was not served on me – delivered to my home address by a legal representive who made me sign for it to prove that I had received the threat – until 28 June 2019. Here's the letter (I blackened out my address to stop salmon farmers from throwing rotten fish at my windows):
As a 'veteran' campaigner I'm used to legal threats and have fought more than my fair share of lawsuits (win, lose, draw and ongoing). To be honest, I read the Woods Whur letter a few times and then went back to the offending '$cottish $camon' report and did not see anything "ill-founded" or "defamatory". I did not consult with a lawyer and I did not remove the report as Woods Whur law firm had demanded. In March 2019, I'd even recorded a video outside Yuri Lopatinsky's properties in Charlotte Square in Edinburgh which quite literally surround the First Minister of Scotland's residence at Bute House.
I put the legal threat in a drawer and pretty much forgot all about Yuri Lopatinsky's legal threat – occasionally citing the letter in various blogs: in November 2020 when questioning the 'provenance' of Scottish salmon and in November 2021 when it was revealed that The Scottish Salmon Company had hired a private investigator to spy on Corin Smith and myself.
An ‘intelligence report’ @salmon_scottish recommends surveillance of Smith and the other individual – whose name is redacted – for 48 hours before and after fish farming events https://t.co/Ei3CjzPPHQ @FerretScot pic.twitter.com/LeoHy06VBv
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 28, 2021
I didn't think much of Yuri Lopatinsky – especially since he had sold his ownership in The Scottish Salmon Company to Faroese/Norwegian giant Bakkafrost in 2019 for a profit of EUR 370 million – until I was phoned up last month by Gordon Blackstock of The Sunday Mail. To cut a long story short – the spy story is still being told with many more Russian skeletons to come out in the wash - it turns out that Yuri Lopatinsky is closely connected to the Russian security agencies, the FSB and SVR (the new KGB) and enough dirty Russian money and oligarchs to fill a Siberian gulag with. Here's the front page story published in The Sunday Mail (27 March 2022):
The photograph of Yuri Lopatinsky – confirmed by Bill Browder (who wrote about Yuri Lopatinsky as his Moscow broker in the first edition of his 2015 book 'Red Notice' – his name is mysteriously changed in the second edition you can buy in bookshops) – was sourced from this 2019 video from Joli Vin which also features Angus MacMillan (formerly an 'organic' salmon farmer in the Outer Hebrides):
Here's a video update explaining more about Yuri Lopatinsky's legal threat; Liam Byrne's outing of Lopatinsky as closely connected to Russian security agencies and money laundering revelations via the AVISMA fraud scandal:
Now it seems that Yuri Lopatinsky's lawyers have changed. Here's an email from Andrew Woods at Woods Whur:
From: Andrew Woods <andrew@woodswhur.co.uk>
Date: Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 3:09 PM
Subject: RE: Lopatinsky's Laundromat (Part 2): Dishonour Among Thieves
To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>, Paddy Whur <paddy@woodswhur.co.uk>, Amanda Usher <Amanda@woodswhur.co.uk>, Christopher Rees-Gay <chris@woodswhur.co.uk>
Cc: Andrew Woods <andrew@woodswhur.co.uk>
Don
Further to the below I am e mailing to confirm that we do not act for/represent the above (However the surname is spelt) and he is not a client of the firm. Mr Thompson left the firm in November 2020.
Regards
Andrew
Andrew Woods
Woods Whur 2014 Ltd
Tel: +44 (0)113 234 3055
Mobile: 07738 170138
St James House, 28 Park Place, Leeds LS1 2SP
Legal Victory? Back in 2019, lawyers @WoodsWhur representing Yuri Lopatinsky threatened me with legal action for what they claimed was an "ill-founded" & "defamatory" report called $cottish Scamon. Today Andrew Woods said Yuri Lopatinsky was not a client https://t.co/TU8IUCHeoT pic.twitter.com/IDLudJJZ22
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) April 27, 2022
This email was in response to:
From: Don Staniford [mailto:salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2022 11:16
To: Andrew Woods <andrew@woodswhur.co.uk>; Paddy Whur <paddy@woodswhur.co.uk>; Amanda Usher <Amanda@woodswhur.co.uk>; Colin Manchester <colin@woodswhur.co.uk>; Christopher Rees-Gay <chris@woodswhur.co.uk>
Subject: Lopatinsky's Laundromat (Part 2): Dishonour Among Thieves
Does Woods Whur still represent money launderer Yuri Lopatinsky?
A press release has just been issued via: Lopatinsky's Laundromat – More Dirt on the "Mysterious Millionaire Oligarch With Links to Russian Spy" & Russian spy agencies!
Download report in full via: Lopatinsky's Laundromat (Part 2): Dishonour Among Thieves (26 April 2022)
$camon Scotland sent a letter today to Scottish Ministers and the UK Government on the public monies trousered by Lopatinsky's companies:
Tweet via: https://twitter.com/TheGAAIA/status/1518881702478761984
Best fishes,
Don
And this email:
Date: Fri, Apr 15, 2022 at 10:06 AM
Subject: Yuri Lopatinsky – is he still a Woods Whur client?
To: <andrew@woodswhur.co.uk>, <paddy@woodswhur.co.uk>, <Chris@woodswhur.co.uk>, <amanda@woodswhur.co.uk>, <colin@woodswhur.co.uk>
Yuri Lopatinsky: His Story (Chronology/Biography) (12 April 2022)
Yuri Lopatinsky: The $py Who Laundered $almoney for the Russian/Norwegian $almafia UPDATED with abstract but a few gaps (8 April 2022)
Any information – especially in relation to money laundering and fraud – would be much appreciated. Did Woods Whur perform all the necessary money laundering checks before being instructed by Yuri Lopatinsky in 2019?
Is Yuri Lopatinsky still a Woods Whur client?
Please pass this email onto James Thomspson – author of the threatening letter sent on Woods Whur letterhead in May 2019 (served in June 2019).
Best fishes,
Don Staniford
Director, $camon $cotland
I emailed back via:
Date: Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 4:31 PM
Subject: Re: Lopatinsky's Laundromat (Part 2): Dishonour Among Thieves
To: Andrew Woods <andrew@woodswhur.co.uk>
Cc: Paddy Whur <paddy@woodswhur.co.uk>, Amanda Usher <Amanda@woodswhur.co.uk>, Christopher Rees-Gay <chris@woodswhur.co.uk>
From: Andrew Woods <andrew@woodswhur.co.uk>
Date: Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 6:14 PM
Subject: RE: Lopatinsky's Laundromat (Part 2): Dishonour Among Thieves
To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Cc: Paddy Whur <paddy@woodswhur.co.uk>, Amanda Usher <Amanda@woodswhur.co.uk>, Christopher Rees-Gay <chris@woodswhur.co.uk>, Andrew Woods <andrew@woodswhur.co.uk>
Don
I will not be providing any further information which is confidential. We do not act for or represent this person.
Regards
Andrew
Andrew Woods
Woods Whur 2014 Ltd
Tel: +44 (0)113 234 3055
Mobile: 07738 170138
St James House, 28 Park Place, Leeds LS1 2SP
As if to hammer home the threatening point, Yuri Lopatinsky's solicitor James Thompson is an expert in the area of "violent and unnatural deaths". Here's a press release issued in October 2018 by Woods Whur:
Here's the LinkedIn profile of James Thompson:
Further information on the sinister nay spooky case of Yuri Lopatinsky was published yesterday (26 April 2022):
Follow the Russian money!
More Dirt on the "Mysterious Millionaire Oligarch With Links to Russian Spy" & closely connected to the SVR/FSB (Yuri Lopatinsky) – owner of @asl_seafoods & @LochFyneOysters & neighbour of the First Minister of #Scotland @scotgov https://t.co/BvukeX1nKr pic.twitter.com/fNEsGifgAH— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) April 26, 2022
Yesterday (26 April 2022), $camon $cotland sent a letter to Scottish Ministers and the UK Government asking for more information on Yuri Lopatinsky including the amount of public monies given to his companies:
Why did @scotgov dish out £177,452 of public money to companies owned by Yuri Lopatinsky (outed @liambyrnemp @HouseofCommons as closely connected to Russian spy agencies & dirty Russian money)? @asl_seafoods @LochFyneOysters https://t.co/89L4RPc6sT @scotgoveconomy @_KateForbes pic.twitter.com/W9I5QQ2GUh
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) April 26, 2022
How can 'Team Scotland' legitimately "fly the flag for Scotland" with two players (@asl_seafoods & @LochFyneOysters) owned by Yuri Lopatinsky (outed @HouseofCommons as closely connected to the SVR/FSB & dirty Russian money)? https://t.co/HgHy34DPIo @KeithFindlay1 @pressjournal
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) April 26, 2022
How much public money has been dished out to Yuri Lopatinsky's companies? "Financial viability of the scheme necessitated grant assistance @scotent with whom we worked closely to negotiate a multi-million pound support package" @ScotDevInt @_KateForbes https://t.co/5ywe9mWKzI pic.twitter.com/d2Cbw8dbsa
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) April 27, 2022
It seems that pressure is building against the 'Moscow broker'. The Ferret reported (27 March 2022):
Scottish Labour MSP Sarah Boyack told The Sunday Mail (27 March 2022): “This is a worrying revelation. Every effort must be made to counter the influence of Russian and Russian-aligned millionaires in Scotland and the rest of the UK.”
Here's Liam Byrne MP's comments under parliamentary privilege in the House of Commons on 17 January 2022:
“Parliament will be ruthless in demanding our Foreign Secretary sanctions every single profiteer from Putin’s regime. Now is the time for Mr Lopatynskyy to put his cards on the table or face MPs using parliamentary privilege to lay out the full dossiers” @liambyrnemp @Sunday_Mail pic.twitter.com/S5EocIqWml
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) March 29, 2022
Read more via:
- Lopatinsky's Laundromat – More Dirt on the "Mysterious Millionaire Oligarch With Links to Russian Spy" & Russian spy agencies!
- Letter/FOI request to Scottish Ministers & UK Government on Public Monies Given to Yuri Lopatinsky's Companies
- EXPOSED: Lopatinsky's Laundromat – How Dirty Russian Money Corrupted $cottish $almon!
- Lopatinsky's Laundromat (Part 2): Dishonour Among Thieves
- Lopatinsky's Laundromat (Part 1): AVISMA – A Case Study in Corruption, Corporate Fraud & Money Laundering
- Yuri Lopatinsky: His Story (Chronology/Biography)
- Yuri Lopatinsky: The $py Who Laundered $almoney for the Russian/Norwegian $almafia (& is a neighbour of the First Minister of Scotland)?
- Channel 4 News on Scottish Salmon Spying on Corin Smith!
- Salmongate: Corin Smith's 'Subject Access Requests' to the Salmafia Reveal Spying by Scottish Salmon!
- The Spy Who Loved 'Scottish' Salmon – from Russia, Ukraine, Switzerland, Norway & the Faroes with Love for Salmoney!
- Corin Smith – interview with the man who is being spied upon by 'Scottish' salmon!
- Herald/Ferret: "Scottish Salmon Company chief hired investigator to 'snoop' on fish farming critic"
EXPOSED: Lopatinsky's Laundromat – How Dirty Russian Money Corrupted $cottish Salmon https://t.co/h1gBFHcRrd
Lopatinsky was ‘instrumental’ in “an immense Russian bank money-laundering scheme” in the 1990s. The 'Moscow broker' still owns @asl_seafoods @LochFyneOysters @rrspink pic.twitter.com/wQf1dJyWFd— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) April 19, 2022
The Shooting Times reported (27 April 2022):
