An Austrian ex-secret service agent is said to have sold confidential information to Russia. The alleged betrayal was apparently orchestrated by the fugitive Wirecard manager. For the first time there are indications that he had helpers in Germany.
When the British domestic intelligence service MI5 searched the homes of five Bulgarians in February 2023, it was not yet foreseeable that the case would also make waves in Germany. The agents found fake press cards, surveillance technology and false passports. And they found clues to the group’s client: the fugitive former Wirecard board member Jan Marsalek. British investigators believe that between August 2020 – just a few months after his spectacular escape to Russia – and February 2023, he commissioned the Bulgarians to investigate and pursue targets in Europe, including journalists. Attacks and kidnappings were also allegedly planned. It is now fairly common ground among Western security authorities that Marsalek has been working for Russian services for almost a decade.