Man accused of spying for Russia ‘spoke to MI5’

A defendant in an alleged Russian spy ring case told police he had already spoken to MI5 when he was arrested, the Old Bailey has heard.

The court was shown a February 2024 interview with Tihomir Ivanchev in which he told a police officer, “I met a person from MI5 and we had some conversations”.

Mr Ivanchev, 39, Kateryn Ivanova, 33, and Vanya Gaberova, 30, of London, deny conspiracy to spy.

Ms Ivanova has also denied possessing multiple false identity documents.

Orlin Rusev, 46, of London, and another man, Bisar Dzhambazov, 43, admitted conspiracy to commit espionage.

Ms Gaberova was arrested in February 2023 and police bodycam footage shows Mr Ivanchev arriving at her flat to try to talk to her.

He told an officer that Ms Gaberova was his “ex-girlfriend”, that he had noticed her beauty salon was closed and he wanted to know: “Is she alive?”

The jury heard that Ms Gaberova was interviewed by police four times.

In a prepared statement he told police in an interview: “I am not a Russian spy”.

He initially refused to give the password of his iPhone 13 but later gave the password in an interview.

Ms Ivanova was also interviewed by police in February 2023, and said in her statement: “I deny conducting any surveillance activities on behalf of Russia. I have no ties with Russia.”

“I have been living and working in the UK since 2012. I pay taxes and I love living here,” she said.

He answered “no comment” to police interview questions.

On 7 February 2024, a year after the initial arrests, Mr Ivanchev was arrested at his home in Enfield, London.

The jury was played the full 1 hour 47 minute interview he gave to police later on the day of his arrest in which he had decided not to have a lawyer present.

Mr Ivanchev told police that Ms Gaberova had met Dzhambazov in 2021 and “travelled with him several times”.

The jury heard Mr Ivanchev say that Dzhambazov had told him he was an Interpol agent.

In his February 2024 interview he said that Dzhamabazov “needs more people” and that he initially thought he would take photos and videos of “criminals” who would be arrested.

When asked by police whether he thought he was “chasing bad guys”, Mr Ivanchev said “yes”.

Mr Ivanchev said he initially took it like a “paid holiday”, but once he “started using my brain more, I started to realize something was wrong”.

“It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said in his Hammersmith police station interview.

Mr Ivanchev told police he was initially paid €200 per day, and the payment came through Dzhambazov’s Revolut account.

He said he “went to Montenegro a few times and Austria a few times”.

He thought his first trip was to Vienna where the “target” was “Mr. Grozev” and he spent three or four days there.

Christo Grozev, an investigative journalist with the Bellingcat group, exposed Russian ties to the 2018 Salisbury attack.

The lawsuit states that the defendants acted under the direction of Rusev, and that, in turn, they received instructions from Jan Marsalek, who was acting as an “intermediary for Russian intelligence services.”

The jury is shown Telegram messages between Marsalek and Rusev about targeting the journalist.

Mr Ivanchev said that after Ms Gaberova’s arrest he told an MI5 “individual” that he was planning to move from the UK to Bulgaria.

The jury watched his police interview in which Mr Ivanchev said border police were waiting for him at the airport and he “spent a couple of hours with them… just explaining the situation”.

Mr Ivanchev said his phone and laptop were taken by border police and a few days later he was told he could get them back.

He said, “I knew I would probably get a call at some point”, and “I had already told them my address and stuff”.

At the trial, jurors heard that five Bulgarian citizens were involved in six campaigns against individuals and places of interest to the Russian state over almost three years.

The lawsuit is ongoing.