Russian ‘spies’ met with Just Stop Oil protesters to plot a fake blood attack on the Kazakh embassy in London, a court has heard.
Spy leader Orlin Roussev said his team met with climate activists to organize the disinformation campaign against Kazakhstan while he was living in Great Yarmouth.
Jurors heard that Russian security services would pass false intelligence about the staged protest to Kazakh intelligence services to build a strong relationship.
Roussev, 46, was commissioned on behalf of the Kremlin by Jan Marsalek, the fugitive boss of German payment processor Wirecard.
The pair also discussed making deepfake gay porn of the president’s son, or catching him in a honey trap.
Roussev said he also lined up a colleague, a baroness and two MPs to raise issues of human rights abuses in Kazakhstan in parliament after realizing that Kazakh intelligence services were not taking them seriously enough.
Sacha Baron Cohen was another option considered by the couple, when they thought about hiring the comedian to make a Borat video criticizing the Kazakh regime.
They also discussed sending letters to EU leaders calling on them to impose sanctions on President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev over his support for Vladimir Putin.
Spy leader Orlin Roussev said his team met with the Just Stop Oil protesters (pictured blocking traffic in Islington in October) to organize the disinformation campaign against Kazakhstan.
Roussev said he had also lined up a colleague, a baroness and two MPs to raise issues of human rights abuses in Kazakhstan in parliament.
Roussev and his number two Bizer Dzhambazov (pictured) have already admitted to conspiring to spy with a Russian agent under the alias Rupert Ticz
The disinformation campaign orchestrated between Roussev and Marsalek was one of six planned operations to be put before jurors at the Old Bailey.
Roussev and his number two Bizer Dzhambazov, 43, have already admitted to conspiring to spy with a Russian agent under the alias Rupert Ticz, who prosecutors say is Marsalek.
Marsalek is wanted by Interpol in connection with a £1.6 billion fraud at Wirecard, which collapsed in 2020.
Dzhambazov’s girlfriend Katrin Ivanova, 33, his 30-year-old lover Vanya Gaberova and Tihomir Ivanchev, Gaberova’s ex-boyfriend, 39, are also on trial. They all deny being part of the conspiracy.
Ms. Ivanova is said to have participated in surveillance of the Kazakh embassy in London while Roussev and Marsalek plotted to baptize it in pig’s blood using drones.
It was said that Dzhambazov worked with Ms. Ivanova and had access to human blood samples through his job at The Doctor’s Laboratory.
But they also carried out tests to get pig’s blood to the right consistency to spray over the building on Pall Mall in central London.
Roussev messaged Marsalek in 2021 to say he had “met the oil protester… very well” and said he was “absolutely impressed by their capabilities.”
Dzhambazov’s 30-year-old lover Vanya Gaberova is also on trial at the Old Bailey
Sacha Baron Cohen (pictured) was another option considered by the couple, when they thought about hiring the comedian to make a Borat video criticizing the Kazakh regime.
He also shared links to Just Stop Oil campaigns in which they have defaced buildings with paint.
The Bulgarian, who had EU status to stay in Britain, wrote: ‘[Sic] Great organization… they even have ‘training’ on peaceful protest and disruption, right on the edge of the law… without getting more than 1-2 weeks in jail at worst.
“I can summarize these people as pure white KKK [Ku Klux Klan] or pure Hitler Youth… they are not racist… just only white people in their troops. I was surprised and confused at the same time…
“They’re fearless… and kind of have a ‘they don’t care’ attitude that they might go to jail… and kind of a kamikaze… but wait… in their ranks are some very intelligent people… even teachers etc… so a very interesting kind of people. ‘
Roussev claimed that JSO is “driven by pure dedication” and that “they appreciate our angle on the interconnection between human rights abuses and big oil companies in Kazakhstan.”
There is no indication that if a meeting did take place, the climate protesters would be aware they were talking to Russian spies.
But Roussev claimed his team had been “invited to a high-level meeting” and said it would be good to “make an official (not cash) donation to their cause.”
The pair also created a website critical of the Kazakh regime and discussed posting critical messages on a ‘Boris bus’ that would drive past the embassy, the court heard.
Katrin is said to have taken part in monitoring the Kazakh embassy in London, while Roussev and Marsalek plotted to baptize it in pig’s blood using drones.
They also took photos of a staged meeting of Kazakh dissidents in London and Marsalek said: “Russian intelligence will pass these on to them through official channels due to a secret source in Britain spying on the Kazakh opposition.
“It will be the ‘result’ of a top-secret Russian spy operation.”
At the time, Tokayev was under pressure after 219 civilians were killed after he ordered the army to open fire on protesters he said were part of a coup.
Marsalek had proposed “hacking Kazakh nuclear power plants, leaking sex videos, crashing the currency” and creating “a homosexual deepfake of Tokayev’s son” before settling on the idea of blood protests.
He suggested having a gay club owner “give an interview that the son of the Kazakh president is a regular (gay) customer.”
He added that Putin’s military intelligence unit, the GRU, had told him it would be a “drama in Kazakhstan” if they published it.
Roussev added: ‘I know some of the TOP UK pornstars and the circles around them… with all the elite clubs… SWING etc… we can check it or at least create a real fake story… ‘
Marsalek then tells Roussev: ‘Glorious news from Kazakhstan: the Kazakh intelligence service is in a minor panic and wants our Russian friends to investigate who this new group of activists is.
There is no suggestion that if a meeting did take place, the climate protesters were aware they were speaking to Russian spies (Photo: JSO protesters block traffic as they take part in a slow procession around Parliament Square)
“They will provide money to bribe the Russians to investigate after they verify their initial information.”
But a month later, Marsalek said Kazakh intelligence services were still not taking them seriously enough. He suggested sending letters calling for sanctions to government officials.
Roussev assured him that he has “already contacted the MP I have as a contact person” and that “we have four prominent people to support our public efforts: 1x Lord in the House of Lords, 1x Baroness, 2 x MPs.”
He said: ‘They will make their views heard in Parliament… (as our cause is honourable), once their stunts become public.
“There is no cost involved, they get free political credit and it costs them nothing as long as the cause is legitimate enough and human rights and war are good political commodities,” he added.
Jurors also heard of plans to monitor Ukrainian soldiers training at a US air base in Germany and to kidnap or kill an investigative journalist.
The process continues.