Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Military espionage network broken up

| updated on 3/19/21 4:54 PM
Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev
Photo: BGNES

An espionage group has been uncovered for the first time, the Prosecutor's Office said after the arrest of 6 Bulgarian military and former intelligence officers, BTA has reported.

The network was organized by a former senior member of the Military Intelligence Service, called the “Resident,” who graduated from an intelligence school in Moscow. He recruited people with access to classified information from Bulgaria, NATO and the EU. The Resident's wife with Bulgarian and Russian citizenship was in contact with the Russian Embassy in Sofia.

The rest held senior government positions. One is a senior member of the Ministry of Defense's planning department. There are two Military Intelligence officers involved, as well as a former military intelligence officer who worked as a secretary, military attache, and defense attache.

The investigation is of particular importance for the security of Bulgaria, the EU, NATO and the United States. There has been no other such case since 1944, Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev said.

"This is not the first time we have witnessed actions by foreign embassies incompatible with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and we define these cases as inadmissible. Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry will continue to act in accordance with established international practice in establishing such cases," the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said in a statement distributed to the media.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

The BNR Symphony Orchestra protests with concert silence

The Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra undertook effective protest action, as shown in videos of their June 6 concert at Bulgaria Hall, which were posted on social media. The BNR Symphony Orchestra refused to perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s..

published on 6/7/25 4:48 PM
The Ivan Mihaylov Cultural Club in Bitola

Three years without justice for the arson attack on the Bulgarian Cultural Centre in Bitola

June 4 marked three years since the arson attack against the Ivan Mihaylov Cultural Centre in Bitola, North Macedonia. It sparked a strong public reaction and raised the issue of human rights and interethnic relations in North Macedonia. On..

published on 6/7/25 3:39 PM
The church of the Holy Transfiguration in Bolhrad

Two Bessarabian Bulgarians from Bolhrad District die at the war front at the end of May

Two Bessarabian Bulgarians from Bolhrad District have died at the war front in Ukraine. Alexander Kara from the Bulgarian village of Petrovsk in the Tarutyne Municipality was born in 1990. He served as a machine gunner and died on May 25. Another..

published on 6/7/25 2:56 PM