Former Wirecard manager and fugitive from justice Jan Marsalek is suspected by British investigators of being involved in a spy network for Russia. This emerges from a statement from the British public prosecutor’s office. Previously this had newsmagazine The mirror reported on the allegations.
The charges against the five suspected spies with whom Marsalek is said to have been in contact were read out in Westminster on Tuesday. The British investigators therefore assume that the former Wirecard board provided the defendants with instructions. The five Bulgarian citizens were arrested in Great Britain in February on suspicion of espionage.
The investigative platform Dossier Center reported in Augustthat the alleged ringleader, the IT entrepreneur Orlin R., is said to have had contact with Marsalek for years – even at the time when Marsalek worked at Wirecard. The former board member went into hiding after the financial services provider collapsed in June 2020. Last year the reported Southgerman newspaperthat Marsalek is presumably living under a new name in Moscow, where he is said to have been at least until spring 2023.
Shortly after his escape, suspicions arose in Western security circles that Russian secret services had supported Marsalek in his escape. During his time at Wirecard, he traveled to Moscow more than 60 times and is said to have had secret service contacts there too.