A fugitive Wirecard director used compromised intelligence agents in Austria to spy on citizens in Europe and plot assassinations with the help of Russian assassins, according to shocking new claims based on evidence obtained by British intelligence.
Jan Marsalek, the former COO of defunct German payments processor Wirecard, is alleged to have helped coordinate a group of spies who planned kidnappings on British soil, prosecutors told Southwark Crown Court in London last September.
But new allegations in an Austrian police report on the arrest of a former Austrian police officer claim that Marsalek was not only compromised by Russia but may also have been one of the Kremlin’s top spies in Europe.
The 86-page warrant alleges that 44-year-old police officer Egisto Ott and top Austrian security official Martin Weiss ordered undercover work for Russian intelligence operating in Europe over a period of several years.
The allegations add to speculation that Wirecard, which went bankrupt after some 1.9 billion euros went missing, may have been used as a “shadow financial network to pay for and facilitate Russian undercover operations,” the newspaper said. Financial timeswhich has painstakingly documented allegations of malpractice in a series of investigations.
Jan Marsalek, the former COO of the defunct German payment processor Wirecard
The former businessman is said to have acted as a ‘tasker’ for five spies in Great Britain. Among them are Vanya Gaberova, 29, (left) and 31-year-old Ivan Stoyanov (right). All five deny the allegations
Marsalek is now believed to be in hiding Russia under the protection of the GRU – the feared military intelligence agency charged with carrying out sabotage and assassinations on foreign soil – after fleeing Europe with the help of his network.
Amid mounting accusations against the former COO, a report published last month by several European media outlets suggested he could have been compromised by Russia as early as 2014.
She claimed Marsalek was compromised after an encounter on a yacht some four years after his appointment as COO.
An investigation found that Marsalek was wooed by the Kremlin after he struck up a relationship with a Russian erotic actress with ties to the elusive security services.
This extended to partying, traveling and taking joyrides in MiG fighter jets, the investigation claimed.
The new arrest warrant for Ott is largely based on evidence provided to Austria by MI5 FTalleges that Ott used his security clearance as an Austrian police and intelligence officer to request confidential information about people of interest to the Kremlin.
This extended to tracking Russian dissidents and Russia’s own agents, the warrant alleges.
Marsalek also allegedly used the information provided by Ott to commit a burglary at the home of a Vienna-based investigative journalist who exposed an attempted assassination plot by Russia in which a computer and storage devices were stolen.
Christo Grozev left Vienna last year after being told by intelligence services that Russia might be plotting an attempt on his life.
Although he admitted to knowing Marsalek, Ott has previously pleaded his innocence.
Marsalek is also accused of playing a key role in a two-and-a-half-year Russian espionage campaign in Britain.
The former businessman is said to have acted as ‘tasker’ for fFive Bulgarians – three men and two women – who allegedly carried out surveillance activities on behalf of the Russian state.
Marsalek’s whereabouts are of course unknown; an Interpol Red Notice has been issued for his arrest.
The alleged spy previously worked for Wirecard, a payment processor and financial services provider once the jewel of German business, with a valuation of €24 billion on the DAX.
FAfter years of persistent investigative reporting, the company reported that £1.7 billion was missing from its accounts in 2020 after disappearing from two banks in the Philippines – a region Marsalek helped oversee.
A series of photos of Marsalek show him with multiple different identities. In one he wears glasses (left), while in others he has short-cropped hair
Marsalek joined Wirecard in 2000 and became COO ten years later, in February 2010.
His and the rest of the company’s management team had their positions terminated in 2020 following an investigation.
Marsalek initially said he went to the Philippines to prove his innocence before disappearing altogether.
In 2021, German intelligence concluded that he had moved to Moscow.
The government coalition in Germany too claimed At the time, Marsalek had ‘gained contact with Russian intelligence services’ through contacts in Austria.
They said they believed the contacts “benefited him during his escape and his immersion.”