Russian spy ring ‘The Minions’ responsible of ‘largest and most advanced’ operations in UK

A group of Bulgarians have been found guilty of the ‘largest and most complex’ Russian spy operation on UK soil.

Bulgarians Vanya Gaberova, 30, Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, and Katrin Ivanova, 33, have been found guilty at the Old Bailey of their part in a Russian spy operation – said to be the largest uncovered on UK soil. Dubbed “the Minions,” the trio worked on a series of surveillance and intelligence operations spanning three years. Their work for the Russians earned them the nickname referring to Despicable Me’s yellow sidekicks.

The cartoon mastermind in the movie was called Gru, while the defendants acted as spies working for the Russian intelligence service, also known as GRU. A jury deliberated for more than 32 hours to find Ivanova, of Harrow, Gaberova, of Euston, and Ivanchev, of Acton, guilty on Friday of plotting to spy for an enemy state.

Ivanova was also convicted of having a stash of false identity documents “with improper intention”, which Roussev and Dzhambazov admitted along with the spy plot.

Sentencing was adjourned until May 7 to May 12.

All living in London, Ivanova was a lab technician, Gaberova, a beautician, and Ivanchev a painter and decorator. They were all convicted for being junior members of a spy ring.

According to court ruling, the ring was ultimately directed by Jan Marsalek, an Austrian businessman who had fled to Russia in 2020 after a company he helped to run collapsed during €1.9bn worth of fraud dealings.

Marsalek himself had ordered for Christo Grozev to be watched. He is an investigative journalist who helped implicare Russian spies in the poisoning of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Bulgaria, Austria and Spain. All three defendants were involved in the operation.

Spy master Marsalek had also previously directed gang members, including Ivanova, to take mobile phone numbers of Ukrainian troops believed to be training at a US barracks in Stuttgart, Germany. They supposedly used a military-grade spying device not previously seen in criminal hands to look through the devices.

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