A person who pleaded guilty to spying for Russia in the UK discussed potentially killing a journalist who uncovered Russian links to the 2018 Salisbury attack, a court has heard.
In 2021, Orlin Roussev allegedly exchanged messages about attacks on Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian citizen and investigative journalist of the “Bellingcat” group.
Roussev (46), from Great Yarmouth, and Biser Dzhambazov (43), from London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage. On Thursday, it was revealed for the primary time that they’d pleaded guilty.
Jurors on the Old Bailey were told of the convictions initially of the trial involving three other alleged spies.
Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, all from London, deny the charge of conspiracy to commit espionage.
Ms. Ivanova also denies having multiple false identity documents.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told the court that Roussev and Dzhambazov had already admitted participating in the identical espionage activities.
The three defendants are accused of spying for Russia, Britain’s “enemy”, between 2020 and 2023, Morgan said.
She added that they tried to gather information, amongst others: with various purposes – each people and locations – of particular interest to the Russian state.
Judges were told that messages between the defendants showed that they were acting as a “team” working under Roussev’s direction and that he was in turn receiving instructions from Jan Marsalek, who was working as a “Russian intelligence intermediary”. .
The court found that Marsalek is an Austrian citizen and “can properly be described as a Russian agent.”
The court heard that a guesthouse in Great Yarmouth occupied by Roussev was “filled” with 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 image recording devices, 11 drones, 16 radios and three IMSI grabbers – that are highly technical pieces of apparatus that enable interception and using data about devices used nearby.
They also had eavesdropping devices and Wi-Fi jammers, in addition to 75 passports and identity documents, including 55 in the names of other people, the court said.
Morgan said the defendants “demonstrated a sophisticated methodology; conducted surveillance activities on people and places, created and used false identities, and used advanced technology to obtain information.”
She said the defendants “obtained photos” and “made detailed reports on their targets.”
“They received significant sums of cash for their actions. And everyone knew why they’d been tasked with running the operation. Their activities were conducted for the direct or indirect good thing about Russia,” she said.
Morgan said the prosecution would give attention to six “key operations” carried out by the defendants, with each of them playing a role in at least two operations. Operations related to targeted people or places.
She said there was no doubt that the defendants conducted surveillance activities, but jurors would have to determine for each defendant why they conducted surveillance.
The evidence showed “high-level espionage combined with numerous fraud,” Morgan said, and all three defendants stood or sat near “real targets, real people,” filming them and capturing information using sophisticated equipment.
The prosecutor added that direct contact with targets was envisaged, for example by using the defendants as “a honey trap, as sexual bait to extract more information from the targets.”
Six “key operations”
Jurors heard that the journalist Hristo Grozev, visible in the photo, was the target of one of the operations [Reuters]
Operation 1
Magistrates heard the attack was aimed at Mr Grozev. Among other things, he discovered Russian links to the 2018 Salisbury attack.
The court heard that Jan Marsalek and Roussev exchanged messages in 2021 in which they discussed their options for Grozew, including placing band members in seats next to him on planes.
They also discussed the possibility of depriving him of his laptop and phone and taking him to the Russian embassy, burning his property, kidnapping him and taking him to Moscow, or killing him.
Operation 2
He allegedly attacked Roman Dobrokhotov in November 2022. He is a Russian investigative journalist and founder of the media website “The Insider”.
He had to flee Russia, was arrested and stripped of his passport.
Operation 3
The target of the attack was a man named Bergey Ryskaliyev in November 2021, the court heard.
Mr. Ryskaliev is a citizen of Kazakhstan and a former politician. He fled to the UK, where he later received asylum.
The tribunal heard that Russia has and had a clear motive to develop relations with Kazakhstan.
Prosecutors said attacking a political dissident on Kazakhstan’s behalf cultivates that relationship by providing Kazakhstan with something it can consider aid.
Operation 4
Alleged planning of disruptive activities at the Kazakh Embassy in London in September 2022.
The court heard there were plans to stage a demonstration outside the embassy – a “fake protest” – to create the appearance that they had real intelligence on those responsible, which they would then pass on to Kazakh intelligence to try to gain favor with Kazakhstan on Russia’s behalf.
Operation 5
Alleged surveillance at Patch Barracks, a US military base in Stuttgart, in late 2022.
It is an American air base that, as jurors heard, was considered by the defendants to be a place where Ukrainian forces were trained in the use of surface-to-air weapons during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Prosecutors say the defendants’ plan was to target the air base using a series of highly sophisticated technologies designed to capture key information about people on the base.
Operation 6
The judges were told that the target of this plan was a man named Kirill Kachur.
He is a Russian citizen who was in Montenegro and employed by the Investigative Committee of Russia, but left the country in 2021 and in November 2023 was recognized by Russia as a “foreign agent”.
