London trial of ‘spies for russia’ prompts call for security probe in Bulgaria

Sofia: As five UK-based Bulgarians are tried in London for spying for Russia, the Bulgarian prime minister is being urged to investigate alleged links aired in court between the case and top officials in Sofia.

Bulgaria’s interim prime minister was urged on Wednesday to take action against possible breaches of national security related to the trial at London’s Old Bailey court of five Bulgarians accused of spying for Russia.

Atanas Atanasov, an MP from the centre-right Democratic Bulgaria party and Director of the State Agency for National Security between 1997 and 2001, asked interim Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev to clarify what actions have been taken in regard to a potential breach in security linked to mentions of President Rumen Radev and former Socialist Party leader Kornelia Ninova at the trial.

Vanya Gaberova, 30, Katrin Ivanova, 33, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, have been on trial since December 2 and deny gathering information for Russia. Orlin Roussev, 46 and Bisser Dzambazov, 42, have pleaded guilty.

The five UK-based individuals allegedly operated as part of a sophisticated spying network that was connected to an Austrian national, a suspected Russian agent and to a current fugitive, Jan Marsalek.

The Times reported on December 9 that in talks with Marsalek, the defendant “boasted of having ‘strong relationships’ at the top of the Bulgarian government including President Rumen Radev and Korneliya Ninova, chairwoman of the country’s Socialist Party. They also discussed having sources in China, which supplied information and equipment.”
It is claimed that the spy ring attempted surveillance of the award-winning Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev, formerly of investigative media outlet Bellingcat.

Encrypted chats between Roussev and Marsalek were provided as evidence, with Roussev allegedly suggesting in September 2021 that Gaberova act as a “honeytrap” for Grozev and start a romance to follow his activities.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan, quoted by the BBC, said on December 3 that the defendants were “carrying out surveillance activity of individuals and places; manufacturing and using false identities and deploying advanced technology to acquire information”.

Bulgarian MP Atanasov also cited an investigation by Bulgarian media outlet bird.bg published on December 6, which claimed that, in 2021, one of the defendants, Katrin Ivanova, bought a rundown house in the village of Karpachevo along with one more individual who bought a neighbouring property. Both houses are alleged to have been used as secret meeting locations in 2021, although evidence for this was not provided.

Among the latest details are that the spy ring was linked to an operation to abduct Roman Dobrokhotov, a journalist who helped uncover the Russian agents behind the Salisbury nerve agent attack in the UK in 2018.

BIRN asked Grozev to comment on the claims but he did not respond by the time of publication. Glavchev and Bulgaria’s prosecution have also not commented on the case. Neither have Radev and Ninova.

Radev won the presidential elections in Bulgaria in 2016 and 2021, backed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP.

However, he and Ninova are now at odds, with Ninova mentioning that she is mulling the launch of a new left-wing party. She was ousted from the BSP in September amid internal conflicts and a shrinking voter base.

The trial is a rare case of Bulgarians being accused of spying for Russia abroad. Most other known cases have concerned individuals passing sensitive information at ministries, embassies and state security agencies in Sofia. Bulgaria has expelled more than 100 alleged spies in recent years.