A man who admitted spying for Russia in Britain has spoken about the possible murder of a journalist who exposed Russian links to the 2018 Salisbury attack, a court has heard.
Orlin Roussev is said to have exchanged messages in 2021 about targeting Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian national and investigative journalist for the ‘Bellingcat’ group.
Roussev, 46, from Great Yarmouth, as well as Biser Dzhambazov, 43, from London, admitted conspiracy to espionage. Their guilty pleas could be reported for the first time Thursday.
Jurors at the Old Bailey were told of the convictions at the start of a trial of three other alleged spies.
Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, all from London, deny a charge of conspiracy to spy.
Ms. Ivanova also denies possessing several false identity documents.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told the court that Roussev and Dzhambazov had already admitted to being part of the same espionage activity.
The three suspects on trial are accused of carrying out espionage on behalf of Russia, “an enemy of Britain”, between 2020 and 2023, Ms Morgan said.
She added that they were trying to gather information, including on various targets, both people and locations, of particular interest to the Russian state.
Jurors were told that messages between the defendants showed that they were operating as a ‘team’, led by Roussev, and that he in turn received instructions from Jan Marsalek, who worked as an ‘intermediary for the Russian intelligence services’. .
The court ruled that Marsalek has Austrian nationality and “can rightly be described as a Russian agent.”
The court heard that a guest house in Great Yarmouth occupied by Roussev was ‘full’ of technical equipment used for espionage.
During the period of the alleged conspiracy, the group had 221 mobile phones, 258 hard drives, 495 SIM cards, 33 audio recording devices, 55 visual recording devices, 11 drones, 16 radios and three IMSI grabbers – these are highly technical items. of equipment that can capture and exploit data about devices used nearby.
They also had Wi-Fi listening devices and jammers, and 75 passports and identity documents, including 55 in the names of other people, the court heard.
Ms Morgan said the defendants were “sophisticated in their methodology; conducting surveillance activities of individuals and places; creating and using false identities and deploying sophisticated technology to obtain information”.
She said the defendants had “obtained images” and “prepared detailed reports on their targets.”
“They received significant sums of money for their actions. And they all knew why they were ordered to conduct their operations. Their activities were undertaken for the benefit of Russia, directly or indirectly,” she said.
Ms Morgan said the prosecution will focus on six “key operations” carried out by the defendants, with each of them playing a role in at least two of the operations. The operations involved targeted people or places.
She said it is not disputed that the defendants conducted surveillance activities, but that jurors will have to determine for each defendant why they conducted surveillance activities.
The evidence showed “high-level espionage with a high level of deception”, Ms Morgan said, and all three defendants stood or sat close to “real targets, real people”, filmed them and recorded information using sophisticated equipment.
The prosecutor added that direct contact with targets was intended, for example by using the female defendants as a “honey trap, as sexual bait to obtain more information from the targets.”
The six ‘key operations’
Jurors heard that journalist Christo Grozev, pictured, was the target of one of the operations [Reuters]
Operation 1
Jurors heard this was directed at Mr Grozev. He discovered, among other things, Russian links to the Salisbury attack in 2018.
The court heard that Jan Marsalek and Roussev exchanged messages in 2021 discussing their options regarding Mr Grozev, including placing team members in seats next to him on planes.
They also discussed possibly robbing his laptop and phone and taking them to the Russian embassy, setting fire to his belongings, kidnapping him and taking him to Moscow, or killing him.
Operation 2
Reportedly targeting Roman Dobrokhotov in November 2022. He is a Russian investigative journalist and founder of the media outlet ‘The Insider’.
He had to flee Russia after being arrested and subsequently stripped of his passport.
Operation 3
This was against a man named Bergey Ryskaliyev in November 2021, the court heard.
Mr. Ryskaliyev is a Kazakhstani citizen and former politician. He fled to Britain, where he was later granted asylum.
There was and was a clear motive for Russia to develop relations with Kazakhstan, the court heard.
Prosecutors said targeting a political dissident on behalf of Kazakhstan cultivates these relations by providing Kazakhstan with what it could view as aid.
Operation 4
He is reportedly planning disruptive activities at the Kazakh embassy in London in September 2022.
The court heard that the plan was to stage a demonstration outside the embassy – a ‘fake protest’ – to give the impression that they were in possession of real intelligence about those responsible, which they would then pass on to Kazakhstan’s intelligence service to try to figure this out. to curry favor with Kazakhstan on behalf of Russia.
Operation 5
Alleged surveillance at the Patch Barracks, a US military base in Stuttgart in late 2022.
This is a U.S. military air base, which jurors heard was, according to the defendants, a location where Ukrainian forces were being trained in the use of surface-to-air weapons at the very time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Prosecutors say the defendants’ plan was to attack the airbase using a series of highly sophisticated technology designed to gather key information about those present on the base.
Operation 6
Jurors were told this scheme targeted a man named Kirill Kachur.
He is a Russian citizen who spent time in Montenegro, was employed by the Investigative Committee of Russia, but left the country in 2021 and was designated a “foreign agent” by Russia in November 2023.
