Latest news with #Roussev
ITV News
13-05-2025
- ITV News
Five of the most surprising revelations from the Russian 'Minions' spy ring trial
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.
NDTV
13-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Russian Spy Ring Busted In UK: 6 Convicted Spies Jailed For 50 Years
Six Bulgarian nationals have been sentenced to a total of 50 years in prison for their involvement in a large-scale Russian espionage operation on UK soil, according to The Metro. The group, known as "The Minions", worked for Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU, and used movie-inspired code names, with the leader going by "Jackie Chan" and his deputy using "Mad Max" or "Jean-Claude Van Damme". According to The Metro, the operation, described as one of the largest and most complex ever uncovered in the UK, targeted journalists, including Bellingcat's Christo Grozev, and a Kazakh former politician. The spies plotted to kidnap and use "honeytraps" to gather information, tracking their targets across several European countries, including Austria, Spain, Germany, and Montenegro. The group's activities were orchestrated by alleged Russian agent Jan Marsalek, who directed the operation from abroad. Police discovered over 100,000 messages on the leader's Telegram account, which helped them uncover the operation and track down the individuals involved. Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said: 'The strength of the investigation into the group's surveillance operations left the ringleaders – Orlin Roussev and Bizer Dzhambazov – with no option but to plead guilty to the charges they faced. 'As shown in footage from his initial interviews, Roussev firmly denied carrying out any espionage activity for Russia. However, before he was due to stand trial, he admitted that he had been part of the conspiracy to spy." 'This was in large part due to the detailed analysis of more than 200,000 digital messages and hundreds of items seized from Roussev's home address." 'The investigation team worked incredibly hard to piece together a complex and wide-ranging conspiracy that I would describe as espionage on an industrial scale." 'The significant jail sentences handed to the group reflect the serious threat they posed to the safety and interests of the UK, as well as targets across Europe." 'This case is a clear example of the increasing amount of state threat casework we are dealing with in the UK. It also highlights a relatively new phenomenon whereby espionage is being 'outsourced' by certain states." 'Regardless of the form the threat takes, this investigation shows that we will take action to identify and disrupt any such activity that puts UK national security and the safety of the public at risk."
Yomiuri Shimbun
13-05-2025
- Yomiuri Shimbun
6 Bulgarians Convicted in UK of Spying for Russia Get Prison Terms up to Nearly 11 Years
Metropolitan Police via AP This undated file handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police shows Orlin Roussev who has been sentenced to 10 years and eight months in prison at the Old Bailey. LONDON (AP) — Six Bulgarians convicted of carrying out a sophisticated spying operation for Russia were sentenced by a London judge Monday to prison terms up to nearly 11 years. The group that used Hollywood code names discussed kidnapping or killing Kremlin opponents as they targeted reporters, diplomats and Ukrainian troops in the U.K., Germany Austria, Spain and Montenegro between 2020 and 2023, prosecutors said. No one was physically harmed but the group put lives in jeopardy, prosecutors said. 'It is self-evident that a high price attaches to the safety and interests of this nation,' Justice Nicholas Hilliard, said. 'The defendants put these things at risk by using this country as a base from which to plan the various operations. … Anyone who uses this country in that way, in the circumstances of this case, commits a very serious offense.' Ringleader Orlin Roussev, who operated out of a former guesthouse in the English seaside resort town of Great Yarmouth, was given the stiffest sentence — 10 years and 8 months in prison — for being involved in all six operations discovered by police. He and the others faced up to 14 years behind bars. Roussev worked for alleged Russian agent Jan Marsalek, an Austrian national who is wanted by Interpol for fraud and embezzlement after the 2020 collapse of German payment processing firm Wirecard, prosecutors said. His whereabouts are unknown. Stiff sentences send a message Security Minister Dan Jarvis said the case sends a warning to other foes that Britain will use its 'full range of tools' to 'detect, disrupt, and deter malicious acts from hostile states and protect the public.' Roussev, 47, and his lieutenant Biser Dzhambazov, 44, pleaded guilty in London's Central Criminal Court last year to espionage charges and having false identity documents. Dzhambazov was sentenced to 10 years and 2 months in prison. Roussev called himself Jackie Chan and Dzhambazov was dubbed Mad Max, or Jean-Claude Van Damme. Their underlings were dubbed 'Minions' from the animated 'Despicable Me' franchise. Police said their fanciful pseudonyms masked a deadly serious gang. In one operation, members tried to lure a journalist who uncovered Moscow's involvement in the 2018 Novichok poisoning of a former Russian spy in Salisbury, England, into a 'honeytrap' romance with another member of the group, Vanya Gaberova. The spies followed Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian researcher for the online publication Bellingcat, from Vienna to a conference in Valencia, Spain, and the gang's ringleaders discussed robbing and killing him, or kidnapping him and taking him to Russia. 'Learning only in retrospect that foreign agents have been monitoring my movements, communications and home, surveying my loved ones over an extended period — has been terrifying, disorientating and deeply destabilizing,' Grozev said in a statement read during the four-day sentencing hearing. 'The consequences have not faded with time — they have fundamentally changed how I live my daily life and how I relate to the world around me.' Ringleader claimed he was 'no James Bond' In another operation, members of the group conducted surveillance on a U.S. air base in Germany where they believed Ukrainian troops were training. After police raided his house and arrested Roussev, he denied doing anything on behalf of any government. 'I would be thrilled to see how on God's earth there is a connection between me and Russia or any other state because I haven't been a spy or government agent,' Roussev said in a police interview. 'No James Bond activity on my end, I guarantee you.' Messages to Marsalek, however, showed him talking about his 'Indiana Jones warehouse' of spy equipment and said he was becoming like 'Q,' the mastermind behind Bond's gadgets. Roussev's house was loaded with spy tech. He had equipment used to jam Wi-Fi and GPS signals, along with eavesdropping devices and car trackers. Cameras were hidden in sunglasses, pens, neckties and cuddly toys, including one in a Minion doll. A selfie of Marsalek wearing a Russian uniform was found on Roussev's phone. Three of the so-called minions were convicted at trial in March of spying for an enemy state. Katrin Ivanova, 33, was sentenced to 9 years and 8 months in prison; Gaberova, 30, was sentenced to 6 years and 8 months; and Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, was sentenced to 8 years. Ivan Stoyanov, 33, a mixed martial arts fighter who pleaded guilty to spying for Russia, was sentenced to 5 years and 3 weeks. Each convict faces deportation after they are released from prison. Spy ring contains love triangle Both women had claimed during the trial that they had been deceived and manipulated by Dzhambazov. Dzhambazov, who worked for a medical courier company but claimed to be an Interpol police officer, was in a relationship with both women — his laboratory assistant and longtime partner Ivanova and beautician Gaberova. Gaberova had ditched painter-decorator Ivanchev for the 'ugly' Dzhambazov, who took her to a Michelin-starred restaurant and stayed with her in a five-star hotel during a surveillance mission. When police arrested the suspects in February 2023, they found Dzhambazov naked in bed with Gaberova rather than at home with Ivanova. Defense lawyer Anthony Metzer said Gaberova was naive and her case was tragic as she 'slipped into criminality' under Dzhambazov's romantic spell. But the judge said she knew what she was doing was for Russia. 'You found what you were doing exciting and glamorous, as demonstrated by the film you took of yourself wearing surveillance glasses in Montenegro,' Justice Hilliard said.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
6 Bulgarian nationals sentenced in the UK for spying for Russia
A London court on May 12 sentenced six Bulgarian nationals to prison terms for operating a Russian espionage network in Britain, according to Reuters. The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies. Orlin Roussev, 47, identified as the ringleader, was sentenced to 10 years and 8 months for conducting six espionage operations that threatened U.K. national security. Judge Nicholas Hilliard described Roussev's actions as posing a serious threat to the country. Roussev's deputy, Bizer Dzhambazov, 44, received a sentence of 10 years and 2 months. Both men had pleaded guilty. Katrin Ivanova, 33, who was recruited by Dzhambazov, was sentenced to 9 years and 8 months, while Vanya Gaberova, 30, received 6 years, 8 months, and 3 weeks. Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, was sentenced to 8 years after the court acknowledged that he had ceased his involvement before the group's 2023 arrest. Ivan Stoyanov, 33, who entered a late guilty plea, was sentenced to 5 years and 3 weeks. Prosecutors said the network acted not directly as part of the Russian intelligence network but rather for financial gain. The Russian embassy in London did not comment on the verdict. The Kremlin has traditionally denied espionage allegations. Police uncovered thousands of communications linking Roussev to fugitive Jan Marsalek, a former executive at financial services company Wirecard, accused of coordinating the Bulgarian network from abroad. Marsalek, suspected of being an agent of Russian intelligence, fled to Belarus and reportedly remains in Russia under Federal Security Service (FSB) protection. Western intelligence agencies believe Marsalek used Wirecard to funnel money supporting covert Russian operations worldwide. Wirecard collapsed in 2020 after 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) vanished from its accounts. The verdict comes as British officials have reportedly been ordered to revise contingency plans to put the country on war alert following repeated Russian threats. The U.K. has remained one of Ukraine's staunchest allies since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, supplying advanced weaponry, military training, and diplomatic support for Kyiv's sovereignty. Read also: Upping pressure on Putin, Trump says 'both leaders' will be at Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Japan Today
12-05-2025
- Japan Today
6 Bulgarians convicted in UK of spying for Russia get prison terms up to nearly 11 years
This undated file handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police shows Orlin Roussev who has been sentenced to 10 years and eight months in prison at the Old Bailey. (Metropolitan Police via AP) By BRIAN MELLEY Six Bulgarians convicted of carrying out a sophisticated spying operation for Russia were sentenced by a London judge Monday to prison terms up to nearly 11 years. The group that used Hollywood code names discussed kidnapping or killing Kremlin opponents as they targeted reporters, diplomats and Ukrainian troops in the UK, Germany Austria, Spain and Montenegro between 2020 and 2023, prosecutors said. No one was physically harmed but the group put lives in jeopardy, prosecutors said. 'It is self-evident that a high price attaches to the safety and interests of this nation,' Justice Nicholas Hilliard, said. 'The defendants put these things at risk by using this country as a base from which to plan the various operations. ... Anyone who uses this country in that way, in the circumstances of this case, commits a very serious offense.' Ringleader Orlin Roussev, who operated out of a former guesthouse in the English seaside resort town of Great Yarmouth, was given the stiffest sentence — 10 years and 8 months in prison — for being involved in all six operations discovered by police. He and the others faced up to 14 years behind bars. Roussev worked for alleged Russian agent Jan Marsalek, an Austrian national who is wanted by Interpol for fraud and embezzlement after the 2020 collapse of German payment processing firm Wirecard, prosecutors said. His whereabouts are unknown. Security Minister Dan Jarvis said the case sends a warning to other foes that Britain will use its 'full range of tools' to 'detect, disrupt, and deter malicious acts from hostile states and protect the public.' Roussev, 47, and his lieutenant Biser Dzhambazov, 44, pleaded guilty in London's Central Criminal Court last year to espionage charges and having false identity documents. Dzhambazov was sentenced to 10 years and 2 months in prison. Roussev called himself Jackie Chan and Dzhambazov was dubbed Mad Max, or Jean-Claude Van Damme. Their underlings were dubbed 'Minions' from the animated 'Despicable Me' franchise. Police said their fanciful pseudonyms masked a deadly serious gang. In one operation, members tried to lure a journalist who uncovered Moscow's involvement in the 2018 Novichok poisoning of a former Russian spy in Salisbury, England, into a 'honeytrap' romance with another member of the group, Vanya Gaberova. The spies followed Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian researcher for the online publication Bellingcat, from Vienna to a conference in Valencia, Spain, and the gang's ringleaders discussed robbing and killing him, or kidnapping him and taking him to Russia. 'Learning only in retrospect that foreign agents have been monitoring my movements, communications and home, surveying my loved ones over an extended period — has been terrifying, disorientating and deeply destabilizing,' Grozev said in a statement read during the four-day sentencing hearing. 'The consequences have not faded with time — they have fundamentally changed how I live my daily life and how I relate to the world around me.' In another operation, members of the group conducted surveillance on a U.S. air base in Germany where they believed Ukrainian troops were training. After police raided his house and arrested Roussev, he denied doing anything on behalf of any government. 'I would be thrilled to see how on God's earth there is a connection between me and Russia or any other state because I haven't been a spy or government agent,' Roussev said in a police interview. 'No James Bond activity on my end, I guarantee you.' Messages to Marsalek, however, showed him talking about his 'Indiana Jones warehouse' of spy equipment and said he was becoming like 'Q,' the mastermind behind Bond's gadgets. Roussev's house was loaded with spy tech. He had equipment used to jam Wi-Fi and GPS signals, along with eavesdropping devices and car trackers. Cameras were hidden in sunglasses, pens, neckties and cuddly toys, including one in a Minion doll. A selfie of Marsalek wearing a Russian uniform was found on Roussev's phone. Three of the so-called minions were convicted at trial in March of spying for an enemy state. Katrin Ivanova, 33, was sentenced to 9 years and 8 months in prison; Gaberova, 30, was sentenced to 6 years and 8 months; and Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, was sentenced to 8 years. Ivan Stoyanov, 33, a mixed martial arts fighter who pleaded guilty to spying for Russia, was sentenced to 5 years and 3 weeks. Each convict faces deportation after they are released from prison. Both women had claimed during the trial that they had been deceived and manipulated by Dzhambazov. Dzhambazov, who worked for a medical courier company but claimed to be an Interpol police officer, was in a relationship with both women — his laboratory assistant and longtime partner Ivanova and beautician Gaberova. Gaberova had ditched painter-decorator Ivanchev for the 'ugly' Dzhambazov, who took her to a Michelin-starred restaurant and stayed with her in a five-star hotel during a surveillance mission. When police arrested the suspects in February 2023, they found Dzhambazov naked in bed with Gaberova rather than at home with Ivanova. Defense lawyer Anthony Metzer said Gaberova was naive and her case was tragic as she 'slipped into criminality' under Dzhambazov's romantic spell. But the judge said she knew what she was doing was for Russia. 'You found what you were doing exciting and glamorous, as demonstrated by the film you took of yourself wearing surveillance glasses in Montenegro,' Justice Hilliard said. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
