The British are trying six Bulgarians for intelligence activities in favor of Russia
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has charged a sixth Bulgarian man with participating in a pro-Russian intelligence network operating in that country.
The trial of the Bulgarians is scheduled to begin in October in London, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“Tikhomir Ivanchev (38) will be charged with conspiracy to obtain, collect, record, publish or transmit documents or information that could be used for purposes prejudicial to the security and interests of the state,” the CPS statement said.
Previously, the department accused five Bulgarian citizens of participating in an alleged “pro-Russian spy network” between August 2020 and February 2023.
Bulgarian citizens Orlin Rusev (46), Bizer Dzhambazov (42), Katrina Ivanova (32), Ivan Stoyanov (32) and Vanya Gaberova (29), living in London and Norfolk, were arrested by UK counter-terrorism police in February 2023.
Before her arrest, Gaberova ran the Pretty Woman beauty salon in west London. Stoyanov was a fan of mixed martial arts and competed in competitions in Britain; in Bulgaria he trained in combat sambo. Rusev worked in the financial services sector, Dzhambazov and Ivanova ran a public organization for Bulgarian citizens living in Britain.
The sixth defendant, Tikhomir Ivanov Ivanchev, was registered at the same address where Vanya Gaberova lived. The case file alleges that the group's "safe house" was a now-closed hotel in the seaside resort of Great Yarmouth that Rusev owned.
The British are trying six Bulgarians for spying for Russia.