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Three Bulgarians Convicted in London for Russian Espionage
Conviction of Bulgarian Nationals
Three Bulgarian nationals were found guilty in a London court of being part of a Russian spy unit involved in surveillance operations for the Kremlin. The individuals, Katrin Ivanova, 43, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, were convicted at London’s Old Bailey court on charges of conspiracy to gather information useful to an enemy between August 2020 and February 2023. They denied the charges but were found guilty.
Espionage Activities and Russian Connections
According to prosecutors, the trio, along with Orlin Roussev, 47, and Bizer Dzhambazov, 43—who admitted their involvement before the trial—conducted surveillance on journalists and planned to stage a fake protest outside the Kazakh embassy in London.
Jan Marsalek, a fugitive former executive of the collapsed payments company Wirecard, allegedly oversaw their operations. The Bulgarian agents were tasked with spying on Ukrainian soldiers being trained at a U.S. military base in Germany, with the intent of tracking their movements on the battlefield following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Jan Marsalek’s Role and Background
Jan Marsalek, an Austrian national, is wanted by German authorities in connection with the multi-billion-euro Wirecard fraud scandal. His current whereabouts remain unknown, though he is believed to be in Russia.
Sentencing and Legal Consequences
The convicted individuals will be sentenced in May, with Judge Nicholas Hilliard warning that they face jail terms. Additionally, Ivanova was found guilty of possessing false identity documents. The Russian embassy in London has not yet responded to the convictions.
This case underscores the continued presence of espionage activities in Europe and the complex networks involved in international intelligence operations.
“Three Bulgarians Convicted in London for Russian Espionage” “Three Bulgarians Convicted in London for Russian Espionage”