Alleged Russian spies to be charged with conspiracy to engage in espionage

Five Bulgarian nationals suspected of spying for Russia will be charged with conspiracy to carry out espionage activities, the public prosecutor announced.

Orlin Roussev, 45, Bizer Dzhambazov, 41, Katrin Ivanova, 31, Ivan Stoyanov, 31, and Vanya Gaberova, 29, will be charged with conspiracy to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to a enemy with a purpose detrimental to the enemy. security and state interest between August 30, 2020 and February 8, 2023.

Roussev, Dzhambazov and Ivanova were previously charged on February 11, 2023 with possession of false identity documents with improper intent under Article 4 of the 2010 Law on Identity Documents.

Nick Price, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “The CPS has authorized a charge of conspiracy to carry out espionage against three men and two women suspected of espionage on behalf of Russia.

“Criminal proceedings against the five individuals are active and each of them is entitled to a fair trial.

“It is extremely important that there are no reports, comments or sharing of information online that could in any way undermine these proceedings.

“The function of the CPS is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments as to whether it is appropriate to present charges to a criminal court. »

All five defendants will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 26.

The charges follow an investigation by the Metropolitan Police.