Six Bulgarians have been convicted of being part of a spy ring which carried out surveillance in the UK and across Europe for Russia.
Following a three-month trial in London, two women and a man – Katrin Ivanova, Vanya Gaberova, and Tihomir Ivanchev – were found guilty of their involvement in a sophisticated spying network.
Three other men – Orlin Roussev, Bizer Dzhambazov, and Ivan Stoyanov – admitted the charges before the Old Bailey trial started.
The Crown Prosecution Service said each person played a role in a variety of operations across Europe on behalf of the Russian state. Not all of the team were involved in all of the missions, but each individual played a role in at least two.
Here’s what we know about the spy ring, nicknamed “the Minions”, an apparent reference to the yellow characters in Despicable Me, and their operations:
Operation one: Kidnap plot against Salisbury attack journalist
Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian investigative journalist, was targeted by the group on a number of occasions from December 2020 until January 2023.
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Mr Grozev worked for the Bellingcat group and as the lead investigator on Russian affairs, he won awards for his work, including uncovering Russian links to the 2018 Salisbury attack, in which former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with the nerve agent novichok.
As a result of his Mr Grozev’s activities, he was placed on the wanted list by the Russian Interior Ministry.
Mr Grozev was followed to different countries, including Austria, Montenegro and Spain. The spy ring created a number of reports for their Russian clients which set out his movements and provided information about his accommodation, vehicle and contacts.
The group also considered a potential ‘honeytrap’ plot, robbing and killing him, or kidnapping him and taking him to Russia.
Operation two: Plan to smuggle Russian out of UK by boat
Roman Dobrokhotov, a Russian who lives in the UK, was targeted in November 2022. He is an investigative journalist and founder of the media outlet The Insider, which focuses on Russia and was previously based in the country.
Mr Dobrokhotov fled Russia, having been arrested and then deprived of his passport.
The surveillance included following him around Europe, with one member of the spy ring, Ivanova, sitting next to him on one flight from Budapest to Berlin.
The group plotted to kidnap the journalist and smuggle him out of UK by boat, but messages revealed that it was deemed too dangerous.
Operation three: Staking out former Kazakhstan politician
Bergey Ryskaliyev was targeted in November 2021 after seeking asylum in the UK.
The surveillance included staking out locations thought to be linked to the former Kazakhstan politician and exploring ways of accessing those addresses.
One member of the spy ring, Stoyanov, was filmed by two of Mr Ryskaliyev’s assistants as they conducted surveillance in a parked car outside the Kazakh’s residence in London.
When challenged by the assistants, he provided a cover story about working for a nearby hospital, even displaying an NHS sign in his vehicle.
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Operation four: Fake pig’s blood at Kazakhstan embassy
The group plotted to create a false opposition group and stage a demonstration outside the Kazakhstan embassy in September 2022.
One stunt included planning to spray the building with large quantities of fake pig’s blood.
The intention was to feed false ‘intelligence’ about the group to the Kazakh Intelligence Services, via their Russian counterparts. The aim was to benefit Russia’s standing in the eyes of the Kazakhs.
Operation five: Ukraine forces targeted at US military base
Surveillance at a US military base in Stuttgart, Germany, was carried out from late 2022 until the group’s arrests in February 2023.
They believed Ukrainian forces were being trained at the base to use surface-to-air weapons.
The plan was to use a range of sophisticated technology designed to capture key intelligence about Ukrainian military personnel and trace them when they returned to Ukraine.
Surveillance images, videos and descriptions of the base were seized from devices. A car which was recovered had been adapted to house and deploy technical surveillance devices outside the base.
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Operation six: Kidnap plot targeting Russian
Kirill Kachur was employed by the Investigative Committee of Russia (roughly equivalent to the UK’s National Crime Agency) but left the country in 2021 and was charged in his absence with embezzlement, making him an obvious source of interest for Russia.
Kachur, who spent time in Montenegro, was targeted from September 2021 to 2022. Surveillance included the use of drones and a kidnapping plot was discussed.
The spy ring rented a villa near Mr Kachur’s location for €5,000 (£4,200) a month, and the group liaised directly with officers of the Russian Intelligence Service on the ground.
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Spies each face up to 14 years in prison
Ivanova, 33, Gaberova, 30, and Ivanchev, 39, were convicted on Friday of plotting to spy for an enemy state. They face up to 14 years in prison when they are sentenced in May.
Ringleader Roussev, 47, Dzhambazov, 43, and Stoyanov, 32, previously pleaded guilty to spying offences.
Roussev was said to be directed by alleged Russian agent Jan Marsalek, an Austrian national wanted by Interpol after the 2020 collapse of German payment processing firm Wirecard. His whereabouts are unknown.
