A London jury has recently found three Bulgarian nationals, who are based in the United Kingdom, guilty of engaging in espionage on behalf of Russia on a large scale.
The individuals were accused of jeopardizing lives as they carried out surveillance activities across Europe on behalf of Russian intelligence, targeting critics of the Kremlin such as journalists, diplomats, and Ukrainian military personnel.
Katrin Ivanova, 43, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, all Bulgarian nationals, were convicted of spying for Russia by a jury at London’s Old Bailey court. The police described their actions as being on an “industrial scale.”
Over a span of three years, the trio conducted various surveillance and intelligence operations under the leadership of one of their organizers who referred to them as “the Minions,” a term taken from the yellow characters in the movie Despicable Me who work for a supervillain.
Working for the Russian intelligence service GRU, the defendants potentially face up to 14 years in prison when they receive their sentencing in May, along with three other Bulgarian members of the spy ring.
Leaders of the group, Orlin Roussev, 47, Biser Dzhambazov, 43, and Ivan Stoyanov, had already pleaded guilty to espionage in Russia before the trial commenced.
Roussev was paid over 200,000 euros ($217,000) to fund their spying activities.
The alleged mastermind behind the operation was Jan Marsalek, 44, an Austrian businessman wanted by Interpol after the collapse of German payment firm Wirecard. Marsalek, currently believed to be in Russia, served as the intermediary between Russian intelligence and the spy ring, instructing them on various operations until their eventual apprehension in 2023.
“This was spying on a near-industrial level on behalf of Russia, its state, and intelligence services,” said Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of London police’s Counter Terrorism Command.
‘Indiana Jones’ HQ
Marsalek tasked the Bulgarian team based in the UK with spying on Ukrainian soldiers undergoing training at a US base in Germany. The objective was to monitor their movements on the battlefield following Russia’s invasion in 2022.
An additional operation involved surveilling Christo Grozev, an investigative journalist with Bellingcat, who had led an investigation into the 2018 poisoning of Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England, with the intention of potentially abducting or harming him.
Other targets included Russian dissident Roman Dobrokhotov, editor-in-chief of The Insider, former Kazakh politician Bergey Ryskaliyev seeking asylum in the UK, and dissident Kiril Kachur.
Discussing dropping artificial blood on the Kazakhstan Embassy in London using a drone as part of a staged protest to impress Kazakh spies was also part of their plans.
During a raid on Roussev’s base in a former guesthouse in Great Yarmouth, police discovered a collection of what they described as “highly advanced” spy equipment. This included hidden audiovisual devices within everyday objects like a rock, ties, a Coke bottle, and a Minions plush toy.
“We discovered sophisticated devices – the type one would expect to see in a spy novel – in Great Yarmouth and London,” Murphy stated.
Love triangle
Dzhambazov, who allegedly worked for a medical courier company but claimed to be an Interpol officer, was romantically involved with two of his co-defendants – Ivanova, his lab assistant, and Gaberova, a beautician.
Gaberova had left Ivanchev, a painter-decorator, for Dzhambazov, who treated her to upscale restaurants and luxurious hotels.
When the police arrived to arrest the suspects in February 2023, they found Dzhambazov in bed with Gaberova instead of at home with Ivanova.
Both women claimed during the trial that they had been misled and manipulated by Dzhambazov.
Mr Justice Hilliard KC kept the defendants in custody until their sentencing, scheduled between May 7 and May 12.
