28/09/23
Alleged Russian spy Orlin Roussev appears in court
A man living in Great Yarmouth who has been charged with spying for Russia has appeared in court today.
Orlin Roussev, a Bulgarian national, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court this morning (Tuesday, September 26).
The 45-year-old was arrested in February while living at an address in Princes Street in Great Yarmouth.
He appeared in court with four other Bulgarians charged with the same offence via video link.
Roussev is accused of conspiring to gather information that would be useful to an enemy between August 2020 and February this year alongside Bizer Dzhambazov, 41, of Harrow, north-west London, Katrin Ivanova, 31, of the same Harrow address, Ivan Stoyanov, 31, from Greenford, west London, and Vanya Gaberova, 29, from Churchway, north-west London.
The five were 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 August 30 2020 and February 8 2023.
The court heard that they are alleged to be part of a “network” conducting surveillance on behalf of the Russian state and that a large part took place abroad but coordination was based in the UK.
The defendants, who were arrested by the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command in February under the Official Secrets Act, only spoke to confirm they could hear and see the court, to state their names and their dates of birth.
Roussev, Dzhambazov and Ivanova were previously charged on February 11 2023 with possession of false identity documents with improper intention under section 4 of the Identity Documents Act 2010.
The trio appeared at the Old Bailey in July to face those charges.
The court heard that all five defendants were arrested in February this year for offences contrary to the Official Secrets Act.
The five defendants were remanded into custody until their next appearance at the Old Bailey on October 13 by Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram.
Related Links
Back to index