December 2nd 2024.
During a court hearing, it was revealed that a Russian agent, Orlin Roussev, had discussed a devious plan involving a "true sexy bitch" and a "honeytrap" to target an award-winning journalist. The agent, along with Austrian national Jan Marsalek, exchanged encrypted messages plotting to destroy the reputation of investigative journalist Christo Grozev in 2021. They planned to set him up with a London-based beautician named Vanya Gaberova, who would seduce him and record the encounter for a pornographic website.
But their plan didn't stop there. The pair also discussed other options such as robbing, burning, kidnapping, or even killing Mr. Grozev. Gaberova, who was recruited to start a romance with the journalist, was sent to Valencia, Spain to spy on him at a conference. The conference was also attended by Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins.
Roussev noted that Mr. Grozev had quickly accepted Gaberova's Facebook request and seemed "hooked and in love" with her. He even started liking her pictures and posts. In September 2021, Roussev wrote in the chat that they could slowly move towards romance and eventually push for a date. Marsalek responded by warning that they should not underestimate Mr. Grozev's paranoia.
Roussev agreed and suggested that they could also record something for Pornhub, as Gaberova was "red hot" and a swinger. He saw an opportunity for her to help Mr. Grozev relax. Marsalek expressed concern that Gaberova might fall in love with Mr. Grozev, to which Roussev reassured him that she was the wrong type of girl for that to happen.
In addition to trying to befriend Mr. Grozev, Gaberova was also accused of taking surveillance images of him and other journalists of interest to Russia at the conference. Roussev and another defendant, Biser Dzhambazov, have pleaded guilty to conspiring to spy for Russia. Gaberova, along with two others, are currently on trial for allegedly being part of the same UK-based spy network.
Prosecutors claim that the group had been involved in six covert operations against people of interest to the Russian government for almost three years. Mr. Grozev, who is also a Bulgarian national, was their first target due to his work uncovering Russian links to the Salisbury attack in 2018 and the downing of a Malaysia Airlines plane in 2014. He was tracked by the group across different locations, and Gaberova was the only one he recognized, as he knew her from Facebook.
The court was shown surveillance pictures of Mr. Grozev at the Valencia airport and inside the Palace Hotel, where he was even photographed having breakfast. The defendants have denied the charges against them, and the trial is ongoing.
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