Five Bulgarians deny charge of spying for Russia in UK

Wirecard AG

22/03/2024 13:40

LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Five Bulgarians, accused of
being part of a Russian espionage network operating in Britain
under instruction from fugitive Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek,
pleaded not guilty in a London court on Friday to a charge of
conspiracy to spy.
    Orlin Roussev, 46, Bizer Dzhambazov, 42, Katrin Ivanova, 32,
Ivan Stoyanov, 32, and Vanya Gaberova, 29, are accused of
conspiring to obtain, collect, or communicate information which
might be useful "for a purpose prejudicial to the safety and
interest of the state" between August 2020 and February 2023.
    The three men and two women all formally entered not guilty
pleas during a hearing at London's Old Bailey court.
    Roussev, Ivanova and Dzhambazov also denied a second charge
of possessing 18 false documents. These included Bulgarian,
British, French, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Italian and Slovenian
passports, a Spanish identity card and a Czech driving licence. 
    Tihomir Ivanchev, 38, a sixth Bulgarian who has also been
accused of spying, was formally joined to the case, but did not
enter a plea. 
    At a previous hearing, British prosecutors said the
defendants were part of an organised network which had carried
out surveillance and hostile action on behalf of Russia against
specific targets, including for potential abductions. 
    Roussev's home was said to be the group's alleged operating
hub in Britain, and said the network had been given tasking by a
person identified as Jan Marsalek.
    Marsalek, the former chief operating officer for collapsed
payments company Wirecard, has not been charged with any offence
in Britain but was named as a co-conspirator in the indictment.
He is wanted by German police over alleged fraud and his
whereabouts are currently unknown.
    The case was adjourned until the next hearing on May 16 and
they are due to stand trial in October.

 (Reporting by Michael Holden, Editing by Louise Heavens)
 ((michael.holden@thomsonreuters.com;))