Alleged spy thought she was helping find fugitive, trial hears

Ms Ivanova also denies possessing multiple false identify documents.

She was asked by her barrister what she thought she was doing in Montenegro on an operation related to Kiril Kachur, designated as a foreign agent by Russia.

Ms Ivanova told jurors that her partner Biser Dzhambazov had said Mr Kachur was a “fugitive” wanted by Interpol.

“I’m looking for the bad man who stole a lot of money from people in Russia,” she said.

Ms Ivanova said she believed she would share in a “big reward” from Interpol when Mr Kachur was captured, and that information she gathered was passed to Orlin Roussev, who in turn passed it to Interpol.

Roussev, 46, from Great Yarmouth, and Dzhambazov, 43, from London, have already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to spy for Russia.

Answering questions from Mozammel Hossain KC, barrister for Mr Ivanchev, Ms Ivanova wiped away as tears as she agreed that Dzhambazov was “deceitful and dishonest” and had “fooled” her.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC opened her questioning of Ms Ivanova by asking: “Are you a good actress?”

“I don’t think so,” Ms Ivanova said.

Ms Morgan went on to list examples of the defendant’s “lies” and asked Ms Ivanova if she was as “deceitful” as Roussev and Dzhambazov. Ms Ivanova said she was not but had been “in denial for a very long time”.

Ms Ivanova said she was not aware of false passports found by police in a London flat she shared with Dzhambazov.

When asked if Roussev and Dzhambazov had “used her for three years”, she said “yes, the same as the other two in the dock”, as Ms Gaberova and Mr Ivanchev looked on.