Five of the most surprising revelations from the Russian 'Minions' spy ring trial

ITV News

13-05-2025

The Bulgarian ringleader of a UK-based spy network and his five 'Minions' have been jailed - but how did he operate the group from a rundown guesthouse in Norfolk?
Orlin Roussev, 47, ran the Russian spy ring from the 33-bed property in Great Yarmouth alongside his five 'Minions' - the yellow sidekicks from the children's film Despicable Me whose name they used as an inside joke.
Roussev was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Monday alongside his second-in-command Biser Dzhambazov, 44, Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, and 33-year-old Ivan Stoyanov.
The homemade spy equipment
Spyware recovered from the 33-bed coastal guesthouse included homemade audiovisual spy devices hidden inside a rock, men's ties, a Coke bottle and a Minions cuddly toy.
In total, officers seized more than 1,800 items, many of which were cameras concealed in everyday objects.
Roussev called the Great Yarmouth guesthouse his "Indiana Jones garage" - and police found a plethora of homemade audiovisual spy devices there.
As well as storing camera devices in the Minions cuddly toy, the group named themselves after the children's characters as an "inside joke".
But instead of the evil cartoon mastermind, Gru, the gang of six Bulgarians were working for the Russian intelligence service, the GRU.
The group also used cameras hidden in glasses, which they used to record potential targets of their plots.
Together, the group pinpointed people and places of interest to the Russian state - with female members Katrin Ivanova and Vanya Gaberova recruited as "honeytrap agents".
A video released by the Met Police of Vanya Gaberova - who found her role "exciting and glamorous" according to Mr Justice Hilliard - using her spyglasses
' No James Bond activity on my end'
When asked by officers why he had so many mobile phones, Roussev was adamant there was an innocent explanation.
In police bodycam footage from his arrest, he said: "I have purchased some on Ebay and I'm repairing some of those."
His excuses and lies continued into subsequent police interviews, and he even went as far as discussing the 007 films.
"I will be thrilled to see how on God's earth there is a connection between me and Russia or any other state," he said in a police interview.
"No James Bond activity on my end - I guarantee you."
The love triangle at the heart of the spy ring
Network second-in-command Dzhambazov was in a relationship with Ivanova, with the couple living together and working at the same medical laboratory.
But Dzhambazov was also involved with Gaberova - and was found naked in bed with her when they were arrested.
On Friday, Ivanova's barrister Rupert Bowers KC told the court she had been "lied to and manipulated by" Dzhambazov, despite never claiming herself that she had been coerced into spying for Russia.
Mr Bowers said: "That is to her credit, but that is not to say that she was not lied to and manipulated by her partner, because she plainly was."
However, sentencing the group on Monday, Judge Mr Justice Hilliard said Ivanova had "thrown in her lot" with Dzhambazov and "must have had a very good idea" of what was going on as a "trusted partner" and "enthusiastic participant" in the network.
He also accepted that Dzhambazov lied about having cancer in order to maintain relationships with both women, which he said was "obviously distressing" for both women.
"The damage is ongoing": The plot to kill a prominent journalist
The group planned to assassinate investigative journalist Christo Grozev, who submitted a victim impact statement to the court in which he said their surveillance on him was "terrifying, disorientating and deeply destabilising".
Mr Grozev was targeted after exposing Russian links to the Novichok poisoning of Sergei and Julia Skripal and the downing of a Malaysia Airlines plane in July 2014.
While following Mr Grozev from Vienna to a conference in Valencia in Spain, Ivanova got close enough to him on the plane to record the passcode on his phone with a camera on the strap of her bag after the spies acquired his flight plans.
"The consequences are not easily reversed - for my family and me, the damage is ongoing," said Mr Grozev.
He said he had changed his daily routines because he fears he may still be at risk from others operating in the UK and elsewhere, and some of his sources are now "too afraid" to speak to him.
The Met Police released a video taken on Ivanova's spyglasses of Mr Grozev on the plane to Valencia.
The former competitive swimmer-turned-decorator who claimed he was tricked into spying
Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev competed for Bulgaria as a swimmer at various FINA world championships in the late 2000s and according to his World Aquatics page, has won one silver and two bronze medals.
After his arrest, he told police he had been in a relationship with Gaberova, who introduced him to Dzhambazov, who said he was an Interpol agent but had cancer.
Ivanchev said Dzhambazov had tasked him with jobs in Vienna and Montenegro, with prosecutor Alison Morgan KC describing his activities as including following people, taking photos and videos and doing internet research.
The court heard he was paid 200 euros a day, dropping to 150 euros, and he said he felt "stupid" to have got himself involved without seeing any proof Dzhambazov worked for Interpol.
On Monday, Mr Justice Hilliard accepted Gaberova's responsibility for involving Ivanchev and said he was "sure" she knew talk of Interpol was "only a cover... ready to deploy if necessary".
The fake Interpol ID was one of many forged documents used by members of the network, including fake passports for countries including France, Slovenia and Belgium - with Roussev himself having 18 fake identity documents.