West London beautician among five Bulgarians to be charged in UK with spying for Russia

Vanya Gaberova, 29, will seem at Westminster Magistrates’ Court docket on Tuesday alongside Orlin Roussev, Bizer Dzhambazov, Katrin Ivanova and Ivan Stoyanov.

The Bulgarian nationals are accused of conspiring to collect info that may be helpful to an enemy between August 2020 and February this yr.

Gaberova, from Acton, reportedly ran a enterprise known as Fairly Girl and was a choose at eyelash competitions.

Nick Value, head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)’s Particular Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, mentioned: “The CPS has authorised a cost of conspiracy to conduct espionage in opposition to three males and two ladies suspected of spying for Russia.

“Orlin Roussev, 45, Bizer Dzhambazov, 41, Katrin Ivanova, 31, Ivan Stoyanov, 31, and Vanya Gaberova, 29, might be charged with conspiring to gather info meant to be instantly or not directly helpful to an enemy for a goal prejudicial to the security and curiosity of the state between August 30 2020 and February 8 2023.”

Dzhambazov and Ivanova are from Harrow in north-west London and Stoyanov is from Greenford, west London. Roussev is from Nice Yarmouth in Norfolk.

The fees observe an investigation by the London Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command.

Roussev, Dzhambazov, and Ivanova had already been charged in February with id doc offences, the CPS mentioned.

Throughout a court docket look in July, prosecutors mentioned they’d 34 ID paperwork, a few of which have been suspected to be false, from the UK, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece and the Czech Republic.

They’re all attributable to seem at Westminster Magistrates’ Court docket on Tuesday, September 26.

The UK has been searching for to take harder motion on exterior safety threats and potential spies. In July a nationwide safety regulation was handed aiming at overhauling its technique of deterring espionage and international interference with new instruments and prison provisions.

On the time, the federal government labelled Russia as “probably the most acute menace” to its safety.

Final yr, MI5 Director Normal Ken McCallum mentioned greater than 400 suspected Russian spies had been expelled from Europe, placing the “most important strategic blow” in opposition to Moscow in current historical past.