Three Bulgarian nationals convicted of spying for Russia attended a Brexit event in Parliament in May 2016, shocking new revelations have revealed.
Orlin Roussev, a Kremlin agent, Biser Dzhambazov, his second-in-command, and Katrin Ivanova, Dzhambazov's girlfriend, were present at the event held in a committee room.
The three were part of a Russian spy ring that was found guilty in March following Britain's largest spying investigation.
Photographs unearthed by the BBC show the spies seated at the Brexit event alongside representatives of European political parties.
Three Bulgarian nationals convicted of spying for Russia attended a Brexit event in Parliament in May 2016, the BBC has revealed.
Getty/Reuters
The use of the room was sponsored by Baroness Brown of Silvertown, who told the BBC she had "absolutely no memory" of the event.
The spy ring operated from a base in Great Yarmouth, plotting kidnappings, disinformation campaigns and surveillance against Ukrainian troops.
They also engaged in secret weapon trades with China.
Their orders came directly from Moscow via Jan Marsalek, a fugitive tech boss who is one of Europe's most wanted men.
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The three were part of a Russian spy ring that was found guilty in March following Britain's largest spying investigation
GETTYAfter a four-month trial at the Old Bailey, Ivanova was convicted of offences between August 2020 and February 2023.
She was found guilty alongside Tihomir Ivanchev and Vanya Gaberova.
Roussev and Dzhambazov had previously pleaded guilty, along with another man, Ivan Stoyanov.
A parliamentary spokesman told the BBC that Parliament was a public building with "robust" security processes.
A photo from outside the headquarters of the Bank of RussiaReutersRoussev's identity in the photographs was verified by two people who knew him during that period, according to the BBC.
The news organisation also visually reviewed the images to confirm Dzhambazov's presence, with Ivanova also visible in the pictures.
The photographs, published on Facebook, show the three spies seated behind Georgi Pirinski, a US-born former Communist who was then a member of the European Parliament for the Bulgarian Socialist Party.
Dzhambazov and Ivanova became members of the Bulgarian Socialist Party in 2016.
The event was organised and attended by representatives of European political parties, including the Bulgarian Socialist Party.
All six members of the spy ring are scheduled to be sentenced this week.
