A woman accused of being part of a spy ring for Russia said she was “very impressed” with one of the leaders who exemplified the “typical hero immigrant story”, a court heard.
Katrin Ivanova, 33, is on trial accused of carrying out surveillance on individuals and places of interest to Russia for more than two years.
She is accused alongside Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39.
The Bulgarian national, who moved to the UK in 2012, became friends with Orlin Roussev through her partner Biser Dzhambazov, both of whom have pleaded guilty to espionage charges.
She met Roussev, who the court previously heard was “leading” the alleged spy ring, at East Croydon station in 2012.
Ivanova told the court she went for dinner with him and Dzhambazov at a “posh” restaurant near the Thames.
“For a new immigrant this was a very nice experience,” she told jurors.
“I was very impressed with him (Roussev), he was someone I always wanted to be. He was a typical hero immigrant story.
“He was someone I was looking up to”
Ivanova, dressed in a black suit, black jumper and white shirt in the witness box, told jurors she and Dzhambazov had let Roussev store computers and other equipment at various homes they lived in in London while Roussev helped them pay for deposits and gave them some money towards rent.
Ivanova met Dzhambazov while working in a summer job when she was 17, the court heard.
Ten years her senior, Dzhambazov moved into Ivanova’s family home in Bulgaria after a few months into their relationship.
Ivanova said she then went to university near the Romanian border, to be as far away as possible from her family.
“I was thinking at the time my father was trying to control me,” she told the court.
It is alleged Ivanova was part of four plots to provide information to Russia, including one involving Bellingcat investigative journalist Christo Grozev and a plan to spray fake blood on the Kazakhstan embassy in London, the court has previously heard.
Ivanova got a job as a laboratory assistant at the Doctors Laboratory in Euston in 2021.
She denied that she would have been able to access large quantities of blood, saying samples usually arrived in three- or six-millilitre vials.
The court heard Ivanova and Dzhambazov lived together in various homes around the capital.
Latterly, the pair had planned to move from a flat in Harrow to a flat in central London, which Ivanova said her colleague was moving out of.
“I cleaned the property, I decorated the property, I went to buy a bed,” she told the court.
Jurors were previously told that Dzhambazov, 43, was in a relationship with both Ivanova and Gaberova, with the latter formerly involved with Ivanchev.
Dzhambazov was arrested while naked in bed with beautician Gaberova at the flat in central London.
Ivanova became emotional when she was asked about what she knew about Dzhambazov’s arrest.
Later, the 33-year-old claimed she had gathered intel on Mr Grozev to expose his “hypocrisy”.
“Mr Grozev has these two properties in Bulgaria, in very nice luxury areas,” she told the court.
“What was being presented to me was those properties were being bought with dirty money.
“The plan was trying to expose Mr Grozev.”
Ivanova denied working for any government and said that was why she left Bulgaria.
“I left my country for that very reason,” she said. “I wouldn’t like to support any government.”
All three defendants deny the charge of conspiracy to spy between August 30 2020 and February 8 2023.
Ivanova has pleaded not guilty to a second charge of possession of false identity documents with improper intention under section 4 of the Identity Documents Act 2010.
At the time of the alleged offences, Ivanchev was living in Acton, west London, Ivanova was living in Harrow, north-west London, and Gaberova in Euston, north London.
The Old Bailey trial continues.
