UK charges sixth Bulgarian with spying for Russia as investigation continues

British counterterrorism police have charged a sixth suspect as part of an ongoing investigation into an alleged spy ring operating in the United Kingdom under the direction of the Russian state.

Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 38, is the latest Bulgarian national to be charged after having been arrested in February. Five fellow Bulgarians, Orlin Roussev, 46, Bizer Dzhambazov, 42, Katrin Ivanova, 32, Ivan Stoyanov, 32, and Vanya Gaberova, 29, were arrested last year.

Cmdr. Dominic Murphy, the head of the Metropolitan Police Service’s counterterrorism command, said: “A sixth suspect was identified and arrested as a result of enquiries made following the previous five arrests in this investigation, and working with the Crown Prosecution Service, a charge has now been brought.”

The five were previously charged in September with “conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy for a purpose prejudicial to the safety and interest of the state,” under Section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977.

During the five’s first court hearing, the prosecution explained they were accused of being part of “an organised network which had carried out surveillance and hostile action on behalf of Russia against specific targets, including for potential abductions,” as reported by Reuters.

The alleged spy ring was operational between August 30, 2020, and February 8, 2023, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Also named but not charged by the CPS is Jan Marsalek, the fugitive Austrian businessman who had been the chief operating officer for Wirecard. Marsalek is suspected of fleeing to Russia in June 2020 shortly after the company announced that $1.9 billion was missing from its accounts.