Five Bulgarian nationals suspected of spying for Russia will be charged with conspiracy to conduct espionage

Five Bulgarian nationals suspected of spying for Russia will be charged with conspiracy to conduct espionage, the Crown Prosecution Service has said. 

The three men and two women are accused of conspiring to gather information that would be useful to an enemy between August 2020 and February this year.

Orlin Roussev, 45, Bizer Dzhambazov, 41, Katrin Ivanova, 31, Ivan Stoyanov, 31, and Vanya Gaberova, 29, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 26. 

Nick Price, head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: ‘The CPS has authorised a charge of conspiracy to conduct espionage against three men and two women suspected of spying for Russia.’

Roussev, Dzhambazov, and Ivanova were previously charged on February 11, 2023, with possession of false identity documents. But two more suspected spies – Stoyanov and Gaberova – also face charges now.

(L-R) Orlin Roussev, 45, Katrin Ivanova, 31 and Bizer Dzhambazov, 41, were previously charged on February 11, 2023

Orlin Roussev, 45, Bizer Dzhambazov, 41, Katrin Ivanova, 31, Ivan Stoyanov, 31, and Vanya Gaberova, 29, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 26.

Read Related Also: Prison chiefs axe gay opera telling imagined love story of Ivor Novello and 'Mad' Frankie Fraser at Wormwood Scrubs with less than a week's notice

It follows an investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

The CPS added: ‘Criminal proceedings against the five individuals are active and they each have the right to a fair trial.

‘It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.

‘The function of the CPS is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for a criminal court to consider.’

The five Bulgarians were arrested in February under the British Official Secrets Act following raids on properties in London and Great Yarmouth in Norfolk.

MI5 allegedly passed the intelligence on to the Met Police.

Roussev is from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, Dzhambazov is from Harrow, northwest London, Ivanova is from Harrow, northwest London, Stoyanov is from Greenford, west London, and Gaberova is from Churchway, northwest London. 

This is a breaking news story. More to follow.