New Russian espionage network discovered in UK, targeting Grozev and Dobrokhotov
Photo: Bellingcat journalist Christo Grozev (twitter.com/christogrozev)
A new Kremlin spy operation has been discovered in the United Kingdom, targeting Russian dissidents in the United Kingdom. Two of its main targets were well-known investigative journalist from Bellingcat, Christo Grozev, and the editor-in-chief of Insider, Roman Dobrokhotov, according to The Guardian.
According to the British publication, these journalists were responsible for exposing two officers of the Russian military intelligence who attempted to assassinate Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in 2018.
According to Dobrokhotov, who fled Russia in 2021 and moved to the UK in January 2023, a group of six Bulgarians, convicted of espionage for Russia, had been monitoring him and his family. He also received information about new attempts to target him.
“I received a warning from the police last spring,” he said.
Details of the warning provided to Dobrokhotov are not disclosed at his request, nor is the location of him, his wife, and two sons.
Six Bulgarian nationals with resident status in the UK—Vanya Gaberova, 30, Katrin Ivanova, 33, Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, Orlin Roussev, 47, Biser Dzhambazov, 43, and Ivan Stoyanov, 34 – were convicted of carrying out espionage operations at home and abroad.
It is believed that 44-year-old Jan Marsalek, an Austrian citizen, worked as a Russian agent and led the British operation from Moscow. He was wanted for alleged involvement in a fraud scheme worth £1.6 billion connected to the German financial company Wirecard.
After the conviction of six Bulgarians for espionage in the UK, the police issued a warning about further Russian operations targeting dissidents and whistleblowers.
Messages uncovered by the police revealed that Dobrokhotov was being monitored so closely that one of the spies sitting next to him on a plane was able to figure out his iPhone PIN code.
The group also discussed poisoning Dobrokhotov with ricin on the streets of London or kidnapping him on a small boat.
It is also reported that the British police warned of a new attempt on Dobrokhotov's life several months after the arrest of the spy group in February 2024.
Dobrokhotov's investigative work at Insider led to around 80 companies and 60 individuals being sanctioned by Western countries due to their role in facilitating Russia's war against Ukraine.
“I understood that after the arrest of the Bulgarians, there must be still some continuous attention to me and Christo because we didn’t stop our work. “Also, because we were told by our source that, after this team controlled by FSB was arrested, the task – the same task – is now given to the GRU (military intelligence). Dobrokhotov explained.
A representative of the UK’s counter-terrorism police stated that the agency "works closely with police forces, partners, and communities to identify any repressive activity by foreign states in the UK and will attempt to interrupt this activity where possible."
In December 2022, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs put investigative journalist Christo Grozev from Bellingcat on their wanted list. Russia accuses him of allegedly spreading fake news about the Russian army.
Last spring, the UK's Ministry of Defence expressed concerns about the activities of Russian spies in the country. British media also reported that MI5 had been ordered to focus on countering spies from Russia, Iran, and China.
