Five Bulgarians suspected of spying for Russia will be charged with conspiracy to conduct espionage, the Crown Prosecution Service says.
Nick Price, head of the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “The CPS has authorised a charge of conspiracy to conduct espionage against three men and two women suspected of spying for Russia.
“Orlin Roussev, 45, Bizer Dzhambazov, 41, Katrin Ivanova, 31, Ivan Stoyanov, 31, and Vanya Gaberova, 29, will be charged 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 between 30 August 2020 and 8 February 2023.
“Roussev, Dzhambazov, and Ivanova were previously charged on 11 February 2023 with possession of false identity documents with improper intention under section 4 of the Identity Documents Act 2010.
“The charges follow an investigation by the Metropolitan Police.”
Roussev, Dzhambazov and Ivanova were remanded in custody after being charged in February.
Last month, the trio were charged with possessing false identity documents.
All five are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 26 September.
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