Six Bulgarians have been jailed for spying on the enemies of Russia’s Vladimir Putin in the UK and beyond.
During a lengthy trial, the Old Bailey heard the ring was paid handsomely for their services, including spying on two journalists who had exposed nerve agent attacks on the Russian dissidents Alexei Navalny and Sergei Skripal.
On Monday, the ringleader Orlin Roussev was jailed for 10 years and eight months for the charge of conspiracy to spy. His second-in-command, Biser Dzhambazov, was sentenced to 10 years and two months.
Katrin Ivanova, Dzhambazov’s partner, was jailed for nine years and eight months by Judge Justice Hilliard. Three others were jailed for between eight and six years.
Their names are Tihomir Ivanchev, Ivan Stoyanov and Vanya Gaberova.
The trial heard that the gang had conducted operations in the UK, Austria, Spain, Germany and Montenegro.
They targeted investigative journalists Christo Grozev and Roman Dobrokhotov, as well as Russian dissidents and political figures.
The case against them, which has been described as “one of the largest” foreign intelligence operations in the UK, focused on six of their assignments.
For the first time in a UK criminal court, the inner workings of a Russian operational spy cell were exposed in thousands of messages organising surveillance, photos and videos of their targets, and talk of plans to kidnap and kill.
Evidence placed before the court this week revealed new details about Jan Marsalek, the ring’s controller for Russian intelligence services.
Marsalek, an Austrian, is currently on the run and is wanted in Germany for alleged fraud linked to the financial services company Wirecard.
The spy ring referred to themselves as the “minions”, inspired by the yellow sidekicks of the villain Gru in the Despicable Me children’s film franchise.
The group also frequently referred to the Russian GRU agency – its military intelligence service – in Telegram messages.
Police raided the Norfolk guesthouse housing the operation in 2023 and found a “treasure trove” of gadgets, including a Minion cuddly toy containing a camera.
Ivanova, Gaberova and Ivanchev were convicted of conspiracy to spy for Russia on 7 March. Roussev, Dzhambazov and Stoyanov had previously pleaded guilty.
In sentencing, Mr Justice Hilliard singled out Dzhambazov as the boss but said all were “motivated by money” – “substantial” sums of up to €1m (£840,000) were discussed by the gang, demonstrating the “value” of their covert activities to Russia.
Mr Justice Hilliard said using the UK as a base to plan spy operations was a “very serious offence” which “undermines this country’s standing with allies”.
“Targeting journalists… undermines freedom of the press, one of our core democratic values,” he added.
Roussev was ordered to pay a confiscation order of £180,768 in ill-gotten gains by August 2025.
Gaberova’s sentenced was reduced to six years, eight months and three weeks following mitigation.
Her defence barrister Anthony Metzer KC said Gaberova, 30, was “controlled, coerced into this conspiracy by Mr Dzhambazov,” who was her lover while also being involved with Ivanova.
The court was told Gaberova had been diagnosed with depression, panic disorder, claustrophobia and anxiety.
Conspiracy to spy carries a maximum sentence of 14 years, but Roussev, Dzhambazov and Stoyanov were afforded some credit for their guilty pleas.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said the case was “a clear example” of the increasing threat of state espionage.
He added that it also “highlights a relatively new phenomenon whereby espionage is being ‘outsourced’ by certain states”.
