Three Bulgarian nationals, residents of the UK for more than 10 years, are being held in custody in England on charges of possession of false documents from a range of European countries and suspicion that they were spying for Russia. The three defendants were arrested in February, along with two other people, in a massive national security investigation that the BBC revealed on Tuesday.
The London Metropolitan Police (Met) later confirmed that five individuals were arrested in February, on suspicion of breaching the Official Secrets Act, by agents of the anti-terrorism division, which has responsibility for espionage in the United Kingdom. The case is still open and, for now, has split into two branches of action at the same time that espionage crimes have been expanded in the new and controversial National Security legislation, finally approved by both houses of Parliament in Westminster in July .
Three of the five initially arrested face charges of possession with “improper intent” of passports, identity cards, residence permits and other forms of personal identification. The false documents appear to come from up to 19 different countries, including Spain, Italy, France, Croatia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, as well as the United Kingdom and Bulgaria.
So far, none have been charged with espionage offenses at this stage of the process, as clarified by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in reference to previous reports disseminated by the media that identified them as Russian spies. Helping a foreign intelligence service is considered espionage under the revised law.
“The CPS has authorized the imputation of charges against Orlin Roussev, Biser Maicimov Dzhambazov and Katrin Ivanova for possession of an identity document with improper intention, contrary to the Identity Documents law,” a spokesperson for the tax agency confirmed to EL MUNDO . The three defendants appeared last month at the National Criminal Court, the historic building on London’s Old Bailey Street, where the trial is expected to start in early 2024. Meanwhile, they are in remand, pending progress. the process.
Roussev, 45, moved to the UK in 2009 and, according to the BBC, her last known address is a boarding house in Great Yarmouth, a Norfolk seaside town in eastern England. The Google locator identifies you as the co-founder owner of a technology company, focused on Artificial Intelligence, algorithms and advanced communication systems. He also cites him as a strategic advisor to the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy between 2008 and 2009.
Dzhambazov, 42, and Ivanova, 32, lived together in northwest London and are known in the neighborhood for community gestures, such as sharing platters with neighbours. They also set up a service to help their compatriots, whether it was filling in forms in English, familiarizing themselves with British norms and culture, or voting in Bulgarian elections. It is said that he worked as a driver and she as an assistant in a laboratory. Ivanova has qualifications in business management and finance, according to her social media profile.
The British government considers Russia the “most serious threat” to the security of the country. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden warned this spring about hacker groups “such as the Wagner militias” preparing attacks against essential British infrastructure. And the head of Defense Intelligence, Adrian Bird, stated in a recent public address that “Russia will continue to be the strongest threat to the UK until 2030.”
London has expelled some thirty alleged Russian spies – out of more than 400 worldwide – since the assassination attempt on the Russian-British double agent, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia, with the deadly agent Novichok, in 2018. Scotland Yard He blamed three agents of the Russian Military Intelligence Agency (GRU) for the massive attack on English soil, which claimed the life of the British Dawn Sturgess.
This summer, Germany’s security services warned of an “aggressive spying operation by Russia” and the anticipated forecast bottomed out days ago. Last week, authorities arrested an individual on suspicion of passing confidential information to Russian embassy. The suspect reportedly appeared of his own free will at the legation in Berlin and the consulate in Bonn, where he offered his services and expertise as an employee of a military equipment and information technology company.
