Two Bulgarian men have pleaded guilty to espionage for Russia in the UK, a court said.
Orlin Roussev, aged 46, from Great Yarmouth, and Biser Dzhambazov, aged 43, from London, both admitted conspiracy to spy.
From this development, their guilty pleas can now be reported for the first time today.
Jurors at the Old Bailey were informed about the convictions at the start of a trial involving three other reported spies.
Katrin Ivanova, aged 33, Vanya Gaberova, aged 30, and Tihomir Ivanchev, aged 39, all hailing from London had denied a charge of conspiracy to spy.
For Ivanova, she is denying possessing multiple false identify documents.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told the court that Roussev and Dzambazov had already admitted to being part of the same spying activity.
Three defendants, along with others, “spied for the benefit of Russia” between 2020 and 2023, Morgan reported.
She added that they “sought to gather information for the benefit of Russia, an enemy of the UK”, including information about various targets, both people and locations, of particular interest to the Russian state.
Morgan additionally said the defendants were “sophisticated in their methodology; carrying out surveillance activity of individuals and places; manufacturing and using false identities and deploying advanced technology to acquire information”.
She said the defendants had “obtained imagery” and “compiled detailed reports on their targets”.
“They were paid significant sums of money for their actions. And they all knew why they were being chided to conduct their operations. Their activity was being undertaken for the direct or indirect benefit of Russia,” she concluded.
