German financial technology company Wirecard went bankrupt in 2020, and the company’s top manager, Jan Marsalek, fled to Russia. Western intelligence officials told the Wall Street Journal that Marsalek worked for Russian intelligence agencies for nearly 10 years before Wirecard collapsed.
Wirecard went bankrupt in 2020, the company then announced that the two billion euros missing from the company’s accounts probably did not exist. German authorities then accused Wirecard executives of massive fraud.
Authorities accuse Marsalek of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars. Western authorities now also believe that Marsalek helped move money for Russian intelligence agencies. This is how Moscow was able to finance its covert operations abroad. Marsalek is also said to have collaborated with the Russian mercenary company Wagner, the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to Western officials, Russian intelligence services used Marsalek as an intermediary to communicate with Russian agents. Western intelligence officials also believe that Marsalek visited Dubai and met there with a retired Russian intelligence officer who procured weapons for Moscow.
Western officials also suspect that Marsalek collected information about Wirecard customers and then passed it on to Moscow. Among the company’s clients was the German Foreign Intelligence Service (BND).
Wirecard has been considered a rising star in the German tech sector over the last decade. Chancellor Angela Merkel also lobbied for the company at the time, recommending that the Chinese do business with Wirecard.
Former colleagues said Marsalek lived a life of luxury in Germany. He earned millions of dollars a year and used a private jet to travel. He met famous and rich people, on his desk there was a bust of Vladimir Putin.
Marsalek was born in 1980 in a small town near Vienna. His paternal grandfather was Hans Marsalek, a Czech communist who later founded the Austrian intelligence agency. Austrian historian Thomas Riegler said that archival documents suggest that Hans worked for the USSR.
2023-12-15 12:45:00
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