Six Bulgarians who spied for Russia in some of the ‘largest and most complex’ operations ever uncovered on UK soil have been jailed for a total of 50 years between them.
The network used code names from popular films, with the ringleader calling himself Jackie Chan and his sidekick Mad Max or Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Working for Putin’s military intelligence service, the GRU, their underlings were dubbed ‘Minions’ after the characters from animated franchise ‘Despicable Me’, who follow an evil mastermind named Gru.
‘Behind those nicknames was an extremely sophisticated intelligence-gathering operation that posed a threat to national security and individuals, including journalists,’ Met counter terror boss Commander Dominic Murphy said.
‘This was industrial-scale espionage on behalf of Russia.’
Katrin Ivanova, 33, and Vanya Gaberova, 30, and competitive swimmer Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, were found guilty at the Old Bailey in March of spying on an ‘industrial scale’, putting lives and national security at risk.
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They were sentenced at the same court today alongside ringleader Orlin Roussev, 47, his second-in-command Biser Dzhambazov, 44, and Ivan Stoyanov, 33, who admitted their roles.
The six spies were handed sentenced between 5 years and nearly 11 years based on their seniority, the charges they were convicted of and whether they pleaded guilty.
The network was directed by alleged Russian agent Jan Marsalek, 44, an Austrian businessman wanted by Interpol after the collapse of German payment processing firm Wirecard.
Marsalek acted as a go-between for Russian intelligence and Roussev, who led the cell from a former guesthouse in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
He directed six operations over a period of at least three years dating back to August 2020.
Spanning the UK, Austria, Spain, Germany and Montenegro, they included elaborate schemes to gather intelligence on people and places of interest to the Kremlin.
In one mission, the gang tried to lure a Bulgarian journalist who uncovered Moscow’s involvement in the 2018 Novichok poisoning of a former Russian spy in Salisbury, England, into a ‘honeytrap’ romance with Gaberova.
The court heard Gaberova knew she was acting in Russia’s benefit and found it ‘exciting and glamorous’.
The spies followed Bellingcat journalist Christo Grozev from Vienna to a conference in Valencia, Spain, and the gang’s ringleaders discussed robbing and killing him, or kidnapping him and taking him to Russia.
Roussev harboured a trove of spy equipment that police described as ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ when it was raided.
They discovered loads of spy cameras, hidden in sunglasses, pens, neckties and cuddly toys that included a Minion. Technology used to jam Wi-Fi and GPS signals were found, along with eavesdropping devices and car trackers.
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Dzhambazov, who worked for a medical courier company but claimed to be an Interpol police officer, was in a relationship with both the women — his laboratory assistant partner Ivanova and beautician Gaberova.
Ivanova had ‘thrown in’ her lot with him ‘for better or for worse’ and was ‘an enthusiastic participant’ in the plots, the court heard.
Gaberova, in turn, had ditched painter-decorator Ivanchev for Dzhambazov, who took her to Michelin-starred restaurants and stayed with her in a five-star hotel.
When police moved in to arrest the suspects in February 2023, they found Dzhambazov naked in bed with Gaberova rather than at home with Ivanova.
Both women claimed during the trial that they had been deceived and manipulated by Dzhambazov.
Following the gang’s convictions, Cmdr Murphy said: ‘I have never seen anything like this in my more than 20 years in counter-terrorism. It was an extremely sophisticated operation.
‘Reading some of the messages and content on the devices you might be tempted to think this is not a serious threat, but behind those nicknames was an extremely sophisticated intelligence-gathering operation that posed a threat to national security and individuals, including journalists.’
Investigators said lives could have been lost had the group not been arrested, recalling the 2018 Novichok attack in Salisbury.
Orlin Roussev, described as the chief of the spy cell, was sentenced to 10 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.
Bizer Dzhambazov was sentenced to 10 years and two months in jail, while Katrin Ivanova was sentenced to nine years and eight months.
Vanya Gaberova was sentenced to six years, eight months and three weeks’ imprisonment, Ivanchev was jailed for eight years, and Stoyanov for five years and three weeks.
The judge told all six defendants they must serve half their sentences in prison in the UK, after which they may be deported to Bulgaria.
Cmdr Murphy added: ‘My concern has always been what that lifestyle surveillance was going to lead to and we have seen a long history of the Russian state conducting operations here in the UK, including lethal threat operations like the investigation in Salisbury.’
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