Putin spies jailed for more than 50 years

Six Bulgarians including two agents dubbed ‘The Brunette Twins’ were jailed for a total of more than 50 years for their involvement in a Russian spy ring.

Lab assistant Katrin Ivanova, 33, and beautician Vanya Gaberova, 30, toured Europe setting honey traps and plotting to kidnap opponents of Vladimir Putin.

They snooped on dissidents with secret cameras while attempting to lure investigative journalists with suggestive pictures and sharing the same spy boss lover.

Ivanova and Gaberova were part of a sophisticated KGB espionage ring controlled from a seaside guest house in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, by ringleader Orlin Roussev.

Ivanova and Gaberova were convicted with Gaberova’s ex-boyfriend, decorator Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, of conspiring to gather information that would be useful to an enemy.

They were jailed along with Biser Dzhambazov, 43, who was arrested in bed with Gaberova – despite being in a relationship Ivanova since they arrived in the UK in 2012.

Roussev, 47, Dzhambazov, and another ‘minion’ Ivan Stoyanov, 33, admitted espionage before the trial began.

Roussev was jailed for 10 years and eight months, Dzhambazov for 10 years and two months, and Ivanova nine years and eight months.

They appeared in the dock surrounded by ten dock officers.

Gaberova, Ivanchev and Stoyanov sat in a dock in another court watching via video-link.

Gaberova was jailed for eight years, Ivanchev for eight years and Stoyanov for six years and four months.

Roussev being interviewed by police

Mr Justice Hilliard said: ‘The defendants are Bulgarian nationals. They were all in this country by virtue of the EU settled status scheme.

‘Mr Roussev acted on the directions of an intermediary of Russian intelligence services.

‘Mr Roussev then tasked his five co-accused. They were deployed to gain information about individuals whose activities were of obvious interest to the Russian state and locations.

‘They were brought to justice as a result of extremely thorough investigative work.

‘The police officers involved deserve to be publicly commended for the work they have done.

‘The activity in this case involved six operations.

‘In addition the prejudice to the wider community there was a risk to particular individuals.

‘Sentences are meant to be safeguard the country as well as provide a deterrent.

‘It is self evident that a high price is attached to the safety and interests of this nation.

‘The defendants put these things at risk by using this country as a base from which to plan their operations.

‘Anyone who uses this country in that ways in the circumstances of this case commits a very serious offence.’

The judge said a ‘vast amount of materials’ were seized from Roussev’s address including ‘sophisticated’ IMSI-catcher devices.

He said: ‘I am constrained by fact that because a number of different operations fall under the scope of one conspiracy charge only a maximum sentence of 14 years is available.

‘The case was charged in this way to avoid jurisdictional issues.’

Russia were the UK’s most pressing threat to national security and the defendants had given the enemy’s intelligence services a ‘foothold’ here, the judge said.

Mr Justice Hilliard added that the spies could be automatically deported to Bulgaria when they are released from prison halfway through their sentences.

Roussev was ordered to pay £180,700 in confiscation.

Six jurors returned to watch the sentencing.

They were all operating under instruction from Russian KGB agent and suspected multi-million pound fraudster Jan Marsalek.

The Austrian, 44, has been on the run since the collapse of the Wirecard cash transfer company when he was the CEO.

The cash transfer firm went bust after it was revealed that €1.9 billion had ‘gone missing.’

He left Austria on a private jet to Minsk when Wirecard filed for insolvency in June 2020.

He is among Interpol’s most wanted people and is believed to be in hiding in Russia under KGB protection.

One of the targets of the spies was Christo Grozev, an investigative journalist who linked the novichok poisonings in Salisbury to the Russian intelligence officers who planned it.

Mr Grozev was followed to Vienna, Bulgaria and Valencia by Gaberova, Ivanova and Dzhambazov where he was attending a ‘Journalists Against Russian Aggression’ conference.

Gaberova jumped into a cab behind Mr Grozev’s at Valencia airport and told the driver: ‘Follow that taxi.’

After the conference, the conspirators plotted to set up Gaberova as a honey trap for Mr Grozev and the two became friends on Facebook.

The spies planned to make a pornographic film starring Gaberova for Mr Grozev to view online.

Roussev, who referred to the two women as ‘The Brunette Twins’ said in a series of messages: ‘We can definitely record something for Pornhub too, that girl is real hot. She’s a swinger too.’

He added: ‘Vanya is very very assertive and strongly independent, true sexy b—h’ to get Marsalek on board with the honey trap.

In one message Dzhambazov said of Mr Grozev: ‘We are interested in whole family children, grandmothers and grandfathers.’

In another operation the ring attempted ring attempted to gather the mobile numbers of US and Ukrainian military personnel at base in Stuttgart, Germany.

They bought four second hand cars to park outside the base which were to be filled with sophisticated data catching equipment and prepared to hide cameras in stones and bottles nearby.

The Patch Barracks facility was being used to train Ukrainian soldiers to shoot down Russian jets using the Patriot surface-to-air missile.

Ivanova took videos of the facility showing the entrances and exits and the security measures around the perimeter.

The plan was to return to Stuttgart and deploy the IMSI grabber which would be operated by ‘chief minion’ Ivanova.

But she claimed the trip to Germany was a ‘romantic holiday’ with her partner Dzhambazov.

Gaberova and Dzhambazov flew to Montenegro to spy on Kirill Kachur, who was employed by the Investigative Committee of Russia before fleeing the country in 2021.

Ivanchev joined them to fly a drone over Mr Kachur’s property – but crashed it into the sea.

He also met with a suspected Russian agent known to conspirators as ‘Red Sparrow’ who was also tracking Mr Kachur.

Marsalek claimed Mr Kachur was taking ‘bribes from everyone’ and wanted him to be kidnapped and taken back to Moscow, adding he did not mind if he ‘died by accident’ on the journey.

The couple pretended to be a ‘playful couple’ enjoying a game of badminton as they snooped on Mr Kachur at his villa.

Journalist Roman Dobrokhotov, who co-founded Russian magazine ‘The Insider’, was also targeted by the spy ring.

Ivanova followed Mr Dobrokhotov on a flight to Berlin and was able to watch him so closely she could work out his phone PIN number.

Marsalek and Roussev discussed spraying him with ricin or acid to ‘burn him alive.’

The ‘minions’ managed to snap a photo of and Mr Dobrokotov and Mr Grozev shirtless by a swimming pool at the Valancia Palace hotel.

Roussev also came up with the idea of spraying the Kazakhstan embassy in London with blood in a fake protest.

The object was for the spies to pretend they knew who the protestors were and pass that on the Kazakhstan intelligence to gain favour with them on behalf of Russia.

Roussev referred to the two women as ‘The Brunette Twins’ but Gaberova insisted she did not even know Ivanova.

She said trips to Vienna, Valencia and Montenegro were ‘very good holidays’ spent with boyfriend Dzhambazov who had repeatedly lied to her and told her he had a brain tumour.

Gaberova and Dzhambazov were found in bed together when intelligence officers burst into Gaberova’s flat to arrest them on 8 February 2023.

Prosecutor Dan Pawson-Pounds said: ‘Police arrived at Ms Gaberova’s flat at 6.15am. There was no response to their knocks on the door, so the officers forced entry.

‘The officers entered the flat and found two people in the bed of the property. Mr Dzhambazov was naked and both were surprised.’

Dzhambazov was living with Ivanova at a flat in Harrow, northwest London, at the time.

At the flat police found at least 30 burner phones, concealed cameras and GPS trackers.

In a pink box inside a safe were two fake passports and two fake ID cards, next to Ivanova’s grandmother’s ring.

The key to the safe was hidden in a Lego camper van in the flat.

Most of the mobiles were ‘Cubot phones’ – a Chinese brand which allows the IMEI number to be erased, meaning the phones cannot be tracked.

Roussev organised and the cell’s spying operations from The Haydee guest house in Great Yarmouth.

He called his room his ‘Indiana Jones cave’ because it was crammed with the latest spying equipment.

Computers, tracking equipment, false documents and ‘grab bags’ ready for surveillance missions were discovered at the 33 room guest house.

The conspirators had cameras hidden in locks, pinecones, hats, a purse, water bottles and a yellow ‘Despicable Me’ minion stuffed toy.

The toy was a reference to the way Roussev described members of the spy ring as his ‘minions’

Jurors were shown a Coke bottle, where the top and bottom unscrew for liquid to be added while a waterproof camera sits concealed under the label.

Roussev had also bought two £400,000 ‘magic devices’ – card readers which allow plastic hotel keys to be copied.

He said he had two because ‘as soon as I give it to the minions they will find a way to break my new toy’.

In all the ring had 221 mobile phones, 258 hard drives, 495 SIM cards, 33 audio recording devices, 55 recording devices, 11 drones, 16 radios, three IMSI grabbers, four Pineapple wi-fi eavesdropping devices and six programming devices.

There were also 110 miscellaneous items including jammers, hacking software, RFID card readers and GPS trackers.

Peter Wright, KC, representing Dzhambazov, said a great deal of the ‘chat’ seen in messages in the case was ‘embellished’ and ‘black humour’.

He said: ’He had no ideological motive in respect of his participation nor any intention to harm the interests of the UK although it is accepted the inevitable consequence of his conduct is a recognised element of the offence.

‘His role was subservient to that of Orlin.’

Rupert Bowers, KC, representing Ivanova, said: ‘Her role is not aggravated by the fantastical chats of Roussev.

‘The crown’s case does not benefit and never has from hyperbole.

‘What Ms Ivanova did was not sophisticated. She took photographs on her phone, she booked budget flights abroad and she was paid 150 euros per day for doing so.

‘She has never said she was coerced but she was lied to and manipulated by her partner.

‘Was it not for her relationship with Dzhambazov she would not have become involved in this offending at all.’

Mozammel Hossain, KC, representing Ivanchev, said he was a ‘hardworking, generous’ man of previous good character.

Dzhambazov has two previous convictions recorded on European records relating to theft of a pizza oven in 2007 and poor joinery work on a house he falsely said he was qualified to conduct.

Ivanova has one conviction for failing to stop at an accident.
The other spies had no previous convictions.

Ivanova, of Harrow, Gaberova, of Camden, northwest London, and Ivanchev, of Erith, denied but were convicted of conspiring to gather information that would be useful to an enemy between 30 August 2020 and 8 February 2023.

Ivanova also denied but was convicted of possessing false identity documents.

Roussev, of Great Yarmouth and Dzhambazov, of Harrow, admitted conspiring to gather information that would be useful to an enemy.

Stoyanov, of Greenford, west London, admitted spying contrary to the Official Secrets Act.