Revealed: second Kremlin spy ring targeting Russian dissidents discovered in UK

Russian investigative journalist Roman Dobrokhotov was the target of a spy ring involving six Bulgarian nationals. Photograph: Andy Hall/The Observer

A second Kremlin spy operation has been discovered targeting Russian dissidents in Britain, it can be revealed.

Roman Dobrokhotov, a journalist in the sights of the six Bulgarians convicted of spying for Russia, said he had been informed of fresh attempts to surveil his family.

“I received a warning from the police last spring,” said Dobrokhotov, 41, who moved to the UK in January 2023. “These attempts are ongoing.”

The details of the warning given to Dobrokhotov, who fled Moscow in 2021, are being withheld on his request, as is the location of him and his wife, Kate, and their two sons, aged eight and 10.

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.

Jan Marsalek, 44, an Austrian national believed to be working as a Russian agent, masterminded the British operation from Moscow despite being wanted for his links to an alleged £1.6bn fraud at the disgraced German financial company Wirecard.

Two of their targets were the journalists Christo Grozev and Dobrokhotov, who were responsible for unmasking the two Russian military intelligence officers who tried to murder Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury in 2018.

Messages discovered by the police revealed that Dobrokhotov had been followed so closely that his iPhone pin number was picked up by one of the spies sitting next to him on a plane.

There had also been discussions within the group about poisoning Dobrokhotov with ricin on the streets of London or abducting him using a small boat.

The police warning of a new attempt to target Dobrokhotov came months after the arrest of the spy ring in February 2024.

Dobrokhotov is the editor-in-chief of the Insider website, whose investigative work has led to about 80 companies and 60 people being hit with economic sanctions by the west over their roles in facilitating Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Dobrokhotov said: “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 [the] FSB [Russia’s security service] was arrested, the task – the same task – is now given to the GRU [military intelligence].

“We were expecting that there will be something continuing. So after police said that they know about some new attempts, that was not very surprising, just confirmation of what our Russian source was telling us.”

Dobrokhotov said he recognised the need to be constantly on the move to avoid the attentions of the Kremlin.

He said: “All my family are worried, of course. They worry about me and they understand that they are not safe – if they put novichok [the biological agent used in the murder attempt on the Skripals] on the door handle, they can all suffer.

“On the other hand, it’s the worst situation when you don’t know whether you should be very much worried, or you can relax. You always doubt if you are paranoid about all of this stuff. So in some way, it’s good to know that you know this situation.”

A counter-terrorism policing spokesperson said: “Counter-terrorism policing works closely with police forces, partners and communities to identify any repressive activity by foreign states in the UK and will seek to disrupt this activity where possible.

“This has been shown to be the case with a number of recent arrests and charges that have been made in relation to offences under the National Security Act.

“We would encourage members of the public to report any allegations of foreign interference to their local police force.

“On receipt of any such reports, officers would also assess whether there are any safeguarding or security concerns or issues and, in liaison with specialist officers, would be able to provide individuals affected with appropriate safety and security advice and support as required.

“Briefings on personal safety are not the limit of our activity to keep people safe, but they do create direct connections between individuals, organisations and policing.

“The importance of that advice should not be underestimated, and neither should the scale of operational activity taking place within our proactive investigations teams and with partner agencies to keep people safe.”