Three Bulgarians detained in the UK on suspicion of spying for Russia

Three Bulgarians have been detained in the UK on suspicion of spying for Russia, the BBC reports on August 15. The three were detained in February and have been in custody since then. They have been charged with working for the Russian security services.

They are Orlin Rusev, 45, who lives in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, Biser Dzhambazov, 41, from Harrow, north-west London, and Catherine Ivanova, 31, who lives at the same Harrow address as Biser Dzhambazov.

The three Bulgarians were in possession of false identity documents - passports, identity cards and other documents for the UK, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece and the Czech Republic.

The Bulgarians had lived in the UK for years, had changed jobs and lived at different addresses.

Orlin Rusev had business dealings in Russia in the past. He moved to the UK in 2009 and worked in the financial sector for 3 years. His LinkedIn profile shows that he also owned his own company tracking communication and electronic signals. Orlin Rusev was an advisor to the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy.

In Harrow, neighbours described Bisser and Katherine as a couple. Biser Dzhambazov was a chauffeur for hospitals and Katrin Ivanova worked in a laboratory at a private clinic. The pair moved to the UK 10 years ago, providing various services to Bulgarians in the UK. They have also worked in London's polling stations for Bulgarian citizens voting abroad.

Bisser and Catherine's home in Harrow was thoroughly searched by British police. There has been a police presence at the address for a week.

The trial of the three Bulgarians is due to start in January, they are to plead not guilty or guilty.

The Bulgarian ambassador in London, Marin Raykov, told BNT that the Bulgarian embassy in the UK had not been informed of the detention of the three Bulgarians. He explained that, according to British practice, if they themselves did not wish the Bulgarian diplomatic services to be informed at the time of their arrest, this does not happen.

Marin Raykov confirmed that the woman had been a member of the election commission during the penultimate parliamentary elections, but not as a representative of the state, but as a candidate of a political party.

According to BNT sources, the investigation started a year ago and the three were put under surveillance. After searches of their homes, a reference check found that the only real identity documents found in their possession were Bulgarian ones, all the others were fake. There are indications that some of the fake documents were manufactured in Spain, but evidence is being gathered along these lines. There is no evidence that the three subjects have come to Bulgaria in the last 12 months.