In a dramatic court session in London, it was claimed that Orlin Roussev, the leader of a Bulgarian spy ring, worked with Jan Marsalek — the fugitive former boss from the Wirecard scandal — to organize an airlift from Kabul in 2021. This was during the dangerous days when the US and its allies were rushing to get their people out of Afghanistan as the Taliban took over.
Lawyers for Roussev told the court that he helped arrange flights using Bulgarian pilots to rescue over 200 people. They argued that Roussev, though accused of spying for Russia, deserved some credit for helping save American lives during the crisis.
Messages shown in court revealed Marsalek asking Roussev if he could find “rogue” operators to fly planes when no regular companies would take the risk. Marsalek claimed it was a request from “friends” at the CIA, passed through a private security firm called Constellis. Roussev’s lawyer, Mark Summers KC, said his client made the mission happen on August 26, 2021.
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But prosecutor Alison Morgan KC dismissed this as false. She said Roussev wasn’t acting on orders from the US government and that no solid proof exists that the airlift ever took place. Instead, she said Roussev and his team were trying to make money from the chaos in Kabul, not help out of goodwill.
Six Spies Facing Justice
Roussev wasn’t the only one in court. He appeared alongside his associates — Biser Dzhambazov and Ivan Stoyanov — both of whom have admitted to spying for Russia. Three more members of the ring, Katrin Ivanova, Vanya Gaberova, and Tihomir Ivanchev, were also present. All six are now waiting to be sentenced after being found guilty of running espionage operations on a huge scale in the UK.
British police uncovered their secret missions when they raided Roussev’s home in Great Yarmouth. They found messages showing the group had been spying on journalists and people who opposed the Russian government.
The court heard that the ring was working under the direction of Russia’s two major intelligence agencies, the FSB and the GRU. Marsalek, the former Wirecard executive who fled Germany after his company collapsed in a €1.9 billion fraud, was said to have been living in Russia and giving tasks to Roussev and his team.
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Diamonds, Drones, and Disguises
The court case also revealed other shocking details about Marsalek and Roussev’s activities. Messages found on their phones showed they were involved in shady business deals. They talked about smuggling diamonds and weapons in Africa, and even planned to send a shipment of gemstones to Dubai.
In one conversation, Roussev mentioned his contacts who could provide diamonds when buyers had no cash. Marsalek, meanwhile, had even bigger plans. He dreamed of building a rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system and hoped to team up with China and Russia to help Moscow’s troops in Ukraine. He also wanted to arrange a deal between Russia’s state weapons company Rostec and Chinese drone maker Autel.
Marsalek’s personal messages showed how deeply he had sunk into his new life as a fugitive. In one chat, he joked about becoming an international spy like James Bond and said he was taking Russian language lessons. In another, he complained about the pain after undergoing more plastic surgery to change his appearance, saying he was “dead tired” and his “head hurts.”
The trial has pulled back the curtain on an international web of spying, secret deals, and dangerous plans that stretched from Afghanistan to Africa, and from Russia to China. Now, as the court prepares to sentence the six convicted spies, the world has gotten a rare glimpse into their shadowy world.
