Russian agent ‘faked brain tumour to enjoy secret dirty weekend with lover’
A RUSSIAN agent lied about having a brain tumour so he could enjoy a dirty weekend away, a court has heard.
Bizer Dzhambazov, 43, told his girlfriend that he was returning to his native Bulgaria for treatment.
But Katrin Ivanova, 33, struggled to get hold of him to see if he was OK — not realising he had been with his lover until he was collared for spying 18 months later.
She claimed the first she heard of his affair with beautician Vanya Gaberova, 30, was when the pair were found naked in bed together by police who came to arrest him.
Lab assistant Ivanova, from Harrow, North West London, told the court: “When I asked about his health, I was being told I was pressuring him.
“I understand now that he was living a double life.”
“But as we see, in October, Mr Dzhambazov was in Bulgaria, yes but he was with Ms Gaberova.
“A relationship with me and a relationship with another woman – a parallel relationship that was going on for over 18 months.”
Dzhambazov and fellow Bulgarian Orlin Roussev, 46, have admitted spying for Moscow.
Ivanova, Gaberova and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, all Bulgarian, all deny being part of a Russian spy ring.
The trial at the Old Bailey continues.