Woman accused of stealing Ukrainian soldiers’ mobile numbers, court hears
Woman accused of stealing Ukrainian soldiers’ mobile numbers, court hears
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Prosecutor at Old Bailey says Katrin Ivanova was only member of Bulgarian spy ring able to pull off plot. A lab technician has been accused of being the only member of a Bulgarian spy ring able to pull off a plot to steal the mobile numbers of Ukrainian soldiers training in Germany.
Katrin Ivanova, 33, was told by prosecutor Alison Morgan KC at the Old Bailey that she had been described by the plotters’ leader as the most technically adept member of the group and that she was necessary to the planned surveillance in Stuttgart. “You were the one who had the brains and ability,” Morgan said, as she cross-examined Ivanova for a full day at an espionage trial in the central criminal court.
Prosecutors say that Ivanova was part of a spy ring of Bulgarians living in the UK who were involved in a plot, on behalf of Moscow, to steal phone numbers of Ukrainian soldiers training on Patriot air defence systems at the Patch barracks in Stuttgart.
Morgan highlighted a message sent by Orlin Roussev, the leader of spy ring, to Jan Marsalek, a Russian agent believed to be based in Moscow, which said he wanted to send to Stuttgart “the minion who will operate the IMSI”, a sophisticated device able to mop up thousands of nearby phone numbers.
The prosecutor said Ivanova was “the chief minion” being referred to – but in reply she denied being able to operate the surveillance device. She said she had not been trained to use an IMSI catcher, or even heard of it until after her arrest in February 2023.
