Bulgarians Convicted in UK of Spying for Russia Are Also Under Investigation in Bulgaria, Committee for Oversight of Security Services Says

The Bulgarians convicted in the UK of spying for Russia are now under investigation in Bulgaria as well. After a meeting of the parliamentary Committee for Oversight of the Security Services on June 5, it was revealed that a parallel pre-trial proceeding has been initiated into espionage activities carried out by these individuals on Bulgarian territory.

Six Bulgarians in the UK Sentenced to Between 5 and 10 Years in Prison over Spying for Russia

The heads of the State Agency for National Security (SANS), State Intelligence Agency (SIA), and the Defence Intelligence Service were heard by the committee regarding the findings presented in the investigation by journalists Hristo Grozev and Roman Dobrokhotov, which alleged that Russia’s GRU is conducting special operations and disinformation campaigns in Bulgaria.

It remains unclear — both for journalists and members of the special committee — whether the data presented in Grozev and Dobrokhotov's investigation for The Insider has been substantiated. Acting Head of SANS, Denyo Denev, declined to answer whether the agency has any information confirming activities by Russian intelligence services in Bulgaria.

Q: Does SANS have any data supporting the findings of Hristo Grozev regarding GRU activity in Bulgaria?

Denyo Denev, Acting Chairman of SANS: "The session was held behind closed doors; I will not comment on any internal details."

- Have any proceedings been initiated?

Denyo Denev: "Everything has been reported internally. I will not comment."

The chairman of the parliamentary committee overseeing the security services, Atanas Atanasov — a former head of counterintelligence — stated that during the session it became clear that a pre-trial proceeding for espionage is indeed underway. It pertains to the Bulgarians convicted in the UK, and the information about their activities in Bulgaria was obtained by foreign intelligence services, not DANS.

“It’s a good thing the foreign intelligence services are doing their job, because we’ve learned nothing from the Bulgarian ones. Either they don’t have the information, or they’re not sharing it. What we’re seeing is a situation where espionage scandals involving Bulgarian citizens erupt — but it’s all uncovered by foreign agencies. So I ask: what is the Bulgarian counterintelligence actually doing, especially when it comes to Russian operations? We ended up receiving far more information about the activities of the Russian services in Bulgaria from the two intelligence services than from the counterintelligence service — whose primary responsibility is to counter Russian and other foreign intelligence operations in the country,” said Atanasov.

Grozev and Dobrokhotov’s investigation links a series of munitions depot explosions and the poisoning of arms factory owner Emiliian Gebrev to the operations of the GRU in Bulgaria and its broader disinformation campaign. Evidence in support of these claims has been collected by the Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office, and separate pre-trial proceedings have been opened specifically for both the explosions and the poisoning of Emilian Gebrev.

The main task of the SANS is to detect such activities while they are in progress and to prevent the achievement of their objectives — not to respond after explosions and poisonings have occurred by trying to identify the perpetrators and collect evidence.

According to Atanasov's words, even if Russian special services are currently carrying out some activity in Bulgaria, it is not clear whether SANS knows about it.