Ex-Wirecard board member: Justice demands extradition from Russia

According to a media report, the wanted ex-Wirecard board member Marsalek is said to have gone into hiding in Moscow. According to “Bild”, the German judiciary has made a request for legal assistance to the Russian government.

In the case of the wanted ex-Wirecard board member Jan Marsalek, the German judiciary is demanding extradition from Russia, according to a media report. The “Bild” newspaper, citing government circles, reports that the Munich public prosecutor’s office sent a so-called arrest request to the Kremlin before Easter.

Marsalek has been wanted worldwide for suspected fraud for two years. He is to be tried in Munich.

According to the newspaper, the German investigators are demanding that the Russian judiciary take Marsalek out of a hiding place in Moscow provided by the Russian secret service FSB, arrest him and extradite him. The request contains the exact escape location of Marsalek from January 2021, with the corresponding coordinates.

The BND should be aware of his whereabouts for a longer period of time

A week ago, the “Bild” newspaper reported that Marsalek had gone into hiding in Moscow. According to this, the whereabouts of the former Wirecard board member have been known to the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Federal Chancellery since last year. According to “Bild”, the Munich investigators are said not to have been initiated, but only learned of Marsalek’s whereabouts through the revelations in the newspaper.

Two Munich public prosecutors then traveled to Berlin last Tuesday to inspect the secret Marsalek files at the BND headquarters, the paper writes. Among them are a BND report from Moscow and another document proving that the BND had informed the Chancellery about the fraudster’s escape location.

These files also contain a previous offer by the Russians that the German investigators be allowed to interrogate Marsalek.

Chancellor’s office informed

In 2021, the German embassy in Moscow learned, according to “Bild”, that a sponsor of the German school there was doing ominous business. The man is said to be dealing in the Russian vaccine Sputnik V, is in contact with a paramilitary mercenary force and has the best contacts in Austria. According to “Bild”, the man should be Marsalek.

Shortly thereafter, according to “Bild”, the FSB offered the BND a meeting and an interview with Marsalek. The BND headquarters in Berlin had been informed about the offer. According to the newspaper, the Federal Intelligence Service did not answer the question from Moscow. However, the Federal Chancellery was informed about the explosive offer of talks.

The Bavarian law enforcement authorities, who are investigating those responsible for the former Dax group, were apparently not informed about the offer. They only received a vague hint.

One of the biggest economic scandals

The main hearing against former Wirecard boss Markus Braun before the Munich I district court is scheduled for autumn. The top floor of the financial service provider Wirecard is said to have booked bogus transactions worth billions for years in order to keep the company, which was then listed in the Dax, afloat and to cheat loans.

It is one of the biggest economic scandals in German history. In addition to Braun, other ex-top managers have been charged. Marsalek is officially considered to be in hiding.