Two Bulgarians have pleaded guilty to spying for Russia in the United Kingdom.
Orlin Rusev, 46, from Great Yarmouth, and Biser Dzambazov, 43, from London, admitted taking part in a conspiracy to commit espionage.
Jurors at the Old Bailey were told of the verdicts at the start of the trial, which also involves three other alleged spies,
Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, all from London, deny the charges.
Ivanova also denies possessing multiple false identity documents.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan told the court that Rusev and Dzambazov had already admitted taking part in the same espionage scheme.
The three defendants, along with others, “spyed for Russia” between 2020 and 2023, Morgan said.
They “sought to gather information for Russia, an enemy of the United Kingdom,” including information on various targets, both people and places, of particular interest to the Russian state.
Morgan explained that the defendants used “sophisticated methodology; conducted surveillance activities on individuals and places; created and used false identities and used advanced technologies to acquire information.”
The prosecutor said the defendants “obtained photographic material” and “compiled detailed reports on their targets.”
“They received significant amounts of money for their actions. And they all knew why they were being assigned to carry out their operations. Their activity was undertaken for the direct or indirect benefit of Russia,” Morgan added. | BGNES
