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During her trial at the Old Bailey, Katrin Ivanova has claimed that she only intended to apprehend a man wanted by Interpol in connection with financial fraud but instead ended up standing accused of spying for Russia. That, at least, is the story she presented in court, claiming that she was assisting with the search for fugitive Kiril Kachur, who was designated as a foreign agent by Russia. Ivanova also said her partner Biser Dzhambazov called out to her for help, saying he needed her linguistic and organisational skills to find Kachur.
Ivanova insists it was only after she had passed on the information to her handlers that she became aware that the Russians were not interested in apprehending Kachur for financial crime and that they were actually involved in spying. A total of five people have been named in connection with what prosecutors have claimed is a Russian espionage operation in the UK which was allegedly designed to uncover both people and places of interest to the Russian state.
Ivanova’s co-defendants include Vanya Gaberova, aged 30 and Tihomir Ivanchev, aged 39, who along with Ivanova, are all Bulgarian nationals residing in London and have denied the charge of conspiracy to spy. Ivanova also denies possessing multiple false identification documents. Two other defendants, Orlin Roussev and Dzhambazov, have already pleaded guilty. Prosecutors allege that Gaberova and Ivanchev acted as “on-the-ground agents” for the conspiracy.
Journalist Christo Grozev was one of the targets allegedly being monitored by the defendants. It has been claimed that Grozev, who previously revealed Russian involvement in the 2018 attack in Salisbury, had been described as “corrupt” by Dzhambazov. Grozev was not in court for the trial and the events surrounding any potential Russian involvement in Grozev’s surveillance is a highly political issue, particularly following the Salisbury attack. The trial continues
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