Bulgarians guilty of spying for Russia in the UK

Three Bulgarian nationals have been found guilty of spying for Russia, in what police have described as “one of the largest” foreign intelligence operations in the UK.

Vanya Gaberova, 30, Katrin Ivanova, 33, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, who were all living in London, were part of a group who travelled Europe carrying out surveillance on journalists, a former politician and a US military base in Germany between 2020 and 2023.

While the trio had day jobs as a beautician, a healthcare worker, and a decorator, the cell they were part of plotted to kidnap and kill targets, as well as planned to ensnare them in so-called honeytraps.

The methods they used were the sort of thing you would “expect to see in a spy novel”, said the Metropolitan Police’s Cdr Dominic Murphy.

Gaberova, of Euston, north London, Ivanova, of Harrow, north London, and Ivanchev, of Acton, west London, were convicted of conspiracy to spy, while Ivanova was also convicted of possessing multiple false identity documents.

They were working for fellow Bulgarian Orlin Roussev, 47, who ran the spy ring from a 33-room former guest house in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Here police found a “treasure trove” of spying gadgets and equipment, including cameras hidden in ties, a camera hidden in a fake rock, and glasses containing recording equipment.

Roussev previously admitted conspiracy to spy, alongside Biser Dzhambazov, 43, of Harrow, while a sixth defendant, Ivan Stoyanov, 34, of Greenford, west London, admitted spying before the trial.

The cell’s key targets were investigative journalists Christo Grozev and Roman Dobrokhotov, whose work includes exposing Russia’s role in the nerve agent attacks on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2020 and Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018.

As part of the surveillance, Gaberova was instructed to befriend Mr Grozev, with Roussev describing him as “hooked and in love” with her in WhatsApp messages.

Another operation included carrying out surveillance at a military site where Ukrainian soldiers were being trained, around the time of Russia’s invasion of the country in 2022.

During the trial, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said the spy cell was “sophisticated in their methodology; carrying out surveillance activity of individuals and places; manufacturing and using false identities and deploying advanced technology to acquire information”.

The police investigation received 221 mobile phones, 495 sim cards, 11 drones, and devices allowing data to be extracted from phones and eavesdropping on wi-fi activity.

Met counter-terrorism chief Cdr Murphy said the case was an “extremely sophisticated” operation that “posed a threat to national security and individuals”.

Roussev received instructions from Jan Marsalek, who is wanted in Germany for his alleged fraud linked to the financial services company Wirecard.

The Austrian national was described by prosecutors as an “intermediary for the Russian intelligence services”.

Roussev and Marsalek met a decade ago, with Roussev subsequently recruited as a spy. He then recruited other Bulgarians to undertake espionage operations.

Roussev was at one stage the chief technology officer for a city of London financial firm.

Stoyanov worked as a medical courier, but also fought in mixed martial arts fights using the nickname “The Destroyer”.

Dzhambazov and Ivanova lived together as a couple and worked in healthcare jobs, but also ran a Bulgarian community organisation that provided courses on “British values”.

But Dzhambazov was also in a relationship with Gaberova – they were found in bed together when police made arrests – and Ivanchev had separately been in a relationship with her in the past.

During their trial, Ivanova and Gaberova admitted undertaking surveillance operations but denied knowing it was for the benefit of Russia.

Ivanchev did not give evidence during the trial but outlined a similar position during police interviews after being arrested. He was arrested a year after the other five defendants and told police he had several conversations with MI5.

The prosecution case focused on six operations carried out by the spies:

Operation 1

This targeted journalist Christo Grozev.

Marsalek and Roussev exchanged messages discussing their options in relation to Mr Grozev, including the placing of team members in seats next to him on planes. He was followed throughout Europe and properties connected to him were watched in Austria and Bulgaria.

The spy cell also discussed potentially robbing him of his laptop and phone and taking it to the Russian Embassy, burning his property, kidnapping him and taking him to Moscow, or killing him.

Operation 2

This targeted journalist Roman Dobrokhotov.

The cell followed him in various countries, and discussed kidnapping him in the UK and smuggling him out of the country using a small boat.

At one stage, Ivanova was so close to him on a plane that she could see the PIN for his phone.

Operation 3

This targeted a man called Bergey Ryskaliyev in November 2021, the court heard.

Mr Ryskaliyev is a Kazakhstan national and former politician. He fled to the United Kingdom where he was later granted asylum.

There is and was a clear motive for Russia to develop relations with Kazakhstan, the court heard.

Prosecutors said that targeting a political dissident on behalf of Kazakhstan cultivates those relations by providing Kazakhstan with what it might consider to be assistance.

Operation 4

This involved plans for disruptive activity at the Kazakh embassy in London in September 2022.

The court heard that the plan was to stage a demonstration outside the embassy – a “fake protest” – to create a pretence that they were in possession of genuine intelligence about those responsible, which they would then pass on to the Kazakhstan intelligence to try to gain favour with Kazakhstan on behalf of Russia.

Operation 5

This involved surveillance at the Patch Barracks, a US Military Base in Stuttgart in late 2022.

This is a US military airbase, which jurors heard was believed by the defendants to be a location where Ukrainian forces were being trained in the use of surface to air weapons, at the very time of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine.

Prosecutors say the defendants’ plan was to target the airbase using a range of highly sophisticated technology designed to capture key intelligence about those present on the base.

Operation 6

Jurors were told this plan was targeting a man called Kirill Kachur.

He is a Russian national who spent time in Montenegro who was employed by the Investigative Committee of Russia but left the country in 2021 and was designated as a “foreign agent” by Russia in November 2023.