A Bulgarian national who led a Russian spy network in the United Kingdom has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.
Orlin Roussev, 47, was identified as the head of a five-person espionage cell that operated across the UK, Germany, Austria, Spain, and Montenegro between 2020 and 2023. Prosecutors stated the group, working on behalf of Russian intelligence, posed serious threats to lives while targeting journalists, diplomats, and Ukrainian military personnel.
Cmdr. Dominic Murphy of London’s Metropolitan Police described the group’s actions as “industrial-scale espionage for Russia.” He also revealed the spies had discussed kidnapping or killing individuals opposed to the Kremlin.
Roussev reportedly took orders from alleged Russian operative Jan Marsalek, an Austrian national currently wanted by Interpol for his role in the collapse of German financial company Wirecard in 2020. Marsalek remains at large.
Justice Nicholas Hilliard noted Roussev's deep involvement in all six major operations and highlighted his possession of a cache of fake identity documents, calling the crime “among the most serious of its kind.”
Roussev received a sentence of 10 years and eight months after pleading guilty to charges of espionage and possession of false identity documents. He is the first of the group to be sentenced at London’s Central Criminal Court.
His deputy, Biser Dzhambazov, 44, was sentenced to 10 years and two months after entering the same plea.
Three other group members—Katrin Ivanova, 33; Vanya Gaberova, 30; and Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39—were convicted by a jury in March for conspiring to spy for an enemy state. Ivanova received a sentence of 9 years and 8 months.
Another associate, 33-year-old MMA fighter Ivan Stoyanov, also admitted to spying for Russia.
The group used movie-inspired code names to conceal their operations—Roussev went by "Jackie Chan," Dzhambazov used "Mad Max" or "Jean-Claude Van Damme," and lower-level operatives were referred to as “Minions,” referencing the animated film.
Despite the humorous aliases, investigators say their activities were lethal in nature. One mission involved trying to lure a Bulgarian journalist—who had exposed Russian involvement in the 2018 Novichok poisoning in Salisbury—into a fake romantic relationship with Gaberova as part of a “honeytrap” plan.
The team tracked investigative journalist Christo Grozev from Vienna to a conference in Valencia, Spain. Internal discussions between the ringleaders included potential plans to rob, kill, or abduct Grozev and smuggle him into Russia.
Grozev’s victim statement, read during the sentencing, described the lasting trauma:
“Learning only in retrospect that foreign agents were watching me, monitoring my communications and surveying my loved ones—has been terrifying... These events have fundamentally changed how I live.”
Authorities raided Roussev’s base of operations in Great Yarmouth, a coastal English town, discovering what they called an “Aladdin’s cave” of surveillance tools—spy cameras hidden in everyday items like sunglasses, pens, neckties, and even stuffed toys. Police also found jamming devices, eavesdropping gear, and GPS trackers.
Dzhambazov, who worked as a medical courier and falsely claimed to be with Interpol, was romantically involved with both Ivanova and Gaberova. The court heard that Gaberova left her former partner Ivanchev for Dzhambazov, who treated her to luxury experiences. When police arrested the group in February 2023, Dzhambazov was found in bed with Gaberova—not with Ivanova, his other partner.
During the trial, both women said they had been manipulated by Dzhambazov. Photo by Setreset, Wikimedia commons.