After receiving the relevant signals from the National Security Service, the Specialized Prosecutor's Office initiated pre-trial proceedings for a crime against the Republic of Bulgaria – on the subject that two persons, foreign citizens, collected information qualified as a state secret, for the purpose of revealing it to a foreign state or a foreign organization (crime under Article 104, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code).
In the course of the pre-trial investigation, it was established that in the period from 2016 to the present moment, two citizens of the Russian Federation carried out intelligence activities, seeking information about the modernization plans of the Bulgarian army and the technical maintenance of the the military technique. Their goal was to reveal the collected information, qualified as a state and official secret, to the Russian military intelligence in Moscow.
In order to carry out their illegal activity, both persons also established contacts with Bulgarian citizens who had access to information related to the country's military-industrial complex. In certain cases, financial benefits were promised and provided to Bulgarian citizens.
It has been established that both Russian nationals enjoy diplomatic status. According to Art.31 item 1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, despite the existence of grounds for bringing them in as defendants for a crime under Art.104 para. 1 of the Criminal Code, the criminal proceedings against both Russian citizens have been suspended, on the basis of Art.25 para. 1 item 3 of the Criminal Procedure Code - "the perpetrator is a person enjoying immunity".
On 09/23/2020, the Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev officially notified the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the findings of the investigation and the actions of the prosecution.