28 February 2024 , 17:41
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A sixth person has appeared in court after being accused of spying for Russia in the UK.
Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 38, has been charged with conspiring to collect information which could be harmful to the "safety and interest of the state" on behalf of Russia.
He is accused of conspiracy to conduct espionage in the UK following an investigation by counter-terror police.
The Bulgarian national, of Acton, west London, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. He was denied bail and remanded in custody after entering no plea.
Ivanchev, who will next appear at the Old Bailey on March 15, is accused of being part of an organised network conducting surveillance against several identities or locations to assist the Russian state in carrying out hostile interference, the court heard. He was arrested on February 7 as part of an investigation led by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command. It means there are now active criminal cases against six Bulgarians.
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Three men and two women, who all have addresses in the UK, will stand trial in October accused of conspiring to gather information that would be useful to an enemy between August 2020 and February 2023. They are Orlin Roussev, 46, Bizer Dzhambazov, 42, Katrin Ivanova, 32, Ivan Stoyanov, 32, and Vanya Gaberova, 29.
Roussev, Dzhambazov and Ivanova are also charged with possession of false identity documents with improper intention under section 4 of the Identity Documents Act 2010. Living as a couple in Harrow, London, Dzhambazov reportedly had a job in the UK as a hospital driver, while Ivanova found work as a private sector laboratory assistant. They also ran a Bulgarian community organisation, set up to introduce Bulgarians into the "culture and norms of British society", reports the BBC.
Espionage, an offence in which an agent is found guilty of assisting a foreign government, carries a maximum sentence of 14 years. Those found guilty of disclosing official secrets can be jailed for life.
Commander Dominic Murphy, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism 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.
“Mr Ivanchev has the right to a fair trial, and we would therefore urge people not to publish anything - on social media or in news media - that creates a substantial risk of seriously prejudicing these active criminal proceedings.”