Churchfield Road Beautician Accused of Spying for Russia
Vanya Gaberova owns the Pretty Woman salon
Vanya Gaberova. Picture: Vanya Gaberova/Facebook
September 25, 2023
A 29-year-old beautician from Acton is facing espionage charges after being arrested by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter-Terrorism Command.
Vanya Gaberova, a Bulgarian national who runs the Pretty Woman salon on Churchfield Road, is one of five people who have appeared in court accused of working with Russian Intelligence services.
Her salon, which has been open since 2019, specialises in lashes extensions and she claims to have won awards for her work in the UK, Bulgaria and Russia.
Along with Orlin Roussev, Bizer Dzhambazov, Katrin Ivanova and Ivan Stoyanov, she is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court the Tuesday (26 September).
All of them are accused of conspiring to gather information which would be useful to an enemy between August 2020 and February 2023. Three of the defendants - Roussev, Dzhambazov and Ivanova - were found with false passports from a number of countries after police raids in Feburary. The security services are understood to believe they are part of a cell which was monitoring activity at RAF Northolt.
Pretty Woman on Churchfield Road. Picture: Google Streetview
Nick Price, head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said, "The CPS has authorised a charge of conspiracy to conduct espionage against three men and two women suspected of spying for Russia. Orlin Roussev, 45, Bizer Dzhambazov, 41, Katrin Ivanova, 31, Ivan Stoyanov, 31, and Vanya Gaberova, 29, will be charged with conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy for a purpose prejudicial to the safety and interest of the state between August 30 2020 and February 8 2023. Roussev, Dzhambazov and Ivanova were previously charged on February 11 2023 with possession of false identity documents with improper intention under section 4 of the Identity Documents Act 2010."
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