A sophisticated spy network passed secrets to Russia for three years, a British court has found. uk news

A sophisticated UK-based spy ring passed secrets to Russia and collected intelligence on targets across Europe for almost three years, a court has heard.

Three Bulgarian nationals, Katrin Ivanova (33 years old), Vanya Gaverova (30 years old), and Tihomir Ivanov Ivanochev (39 years old) are known to have monitored individuals and places of interest to Russia.

Among those targeted was an award-winning Bulgarian journalist who worked with the late Russian opposition dissident Alexei Navalny. The journalist has reportedly been the subject of discussions about killing or kidnapping him and taking him to Moscow.

Other charges involve placing two female defendants in a honey trap scheme to capture more information.

Opening the prosecution case on Thursday, Alison Morgan KC said: Over almost three years, they sought to gather intelligence on a variety of targets, including both people and physical locations, for the benefit of Britain's enemy Russia. Information of particular importance to the Russian state. Their activities resulted in clear and unavoidable infringements on the safety and interests of Great Britain.

She said of the defendant's alleged activities: This was high risk and very sophisticated. The defendants earned significant amounts of money for what they did. None of them took part in this activity blindly.

The defendants are said to have collaborated with several others who spied for Russia between 2020 and 2023 in London, Vienna, Valencia, Montenegro and Stuttgart.

The spy ring included two more defendants, Orlin Roussev and Biser Dzhambazov, who pleaded guilty to espionage charges, the Old Bailey heard.

Morgan said the defendants conspired with Russian agent Jan Marsalek, known as Austrian national Rupert Ticz, to obtain material useful to Russia.

Jurors heard Dzhambazov, 43, was in a relationship with both Ivanova and Gaberova, the latter of whom had previously been involved with Ivanchev.

Morgan said the defendants could be trying to rely on relationships and suggest they were misunderstood or simply following people across Europe out of love or devotion.

She said she was tasked with keeping tabs on public figures who were of obvious interest to Russia because they were dissidents who had fled their home country for their own safety. Morgan told the jury: It was high risk and very sophisticated.

A variety of activities were alleged, including surveillance operations, tracking people around and finding out where they were and then reporting them to the Russian state.

This reportedly includes surveillance of Patch Barracks, a U.S. military base in Stuttgart, in 2022, according to Morgan. The defendants believed this was a place where Ukrainian troops were being trained.

The court heard messages were exchanged between Marsalek and Roussev in which they discussed options involving Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev, who was the lead Russia investigator for award-winning investigative journalism group Bellingcat.

These options reportedly included spying on him, kidnapping him, taking him to Moscow, killing him, and infiltrating Bellingcat.

The defendants deny conspiracy to collect information for purposes prejudicial to the security and interests of the State between August 30, 2020 and February 8, 2023. Ivanova also denied possessing 18 false identification documents, including British and other passports and documents.

The trial is scheduled to last until February next year.

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