Jan Marsalek, an Austrian who has stolen 1.9 billion euros from the German fintech company Wirecard, has possibly fled to Russia, which he had served as a spy.

The company, which in 2000 employed Marsalek as the chief operational officer, used to provide payment processing and financial services to a number of intelligence agencies, including European and Russian ones, before filing for bankruptcy in 2020.

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By that year, Wirecard, based on Aschheim, Germany, accrued 3.2 billion euros in debt and its management faced criminal charges. Marsalek escaped the arrest to become a fugitive in Russia, via Belarus. An Austrian ex-intelligence official and a former right-wing parliament member arranged a flight from Vienna to Minsk for the businessman.

The possible appearances of Jan Marsalek at present.

A new report by the Wall Street Journal suggests he was likely engaged in espionage operations for Moscow since 2010. While employed at Wirecard, Marsalek boasted of connections with intelligence agencies - including Germany’s BND and DKA and Russia’s SVR and GRU. He also took selfies with high-ranking members of the Russian mercenary group Wagner and even had a Vladimir Putin statuette on his desk. 

Jan, a self-taught programmer, was a talented entrepreneur and earned millions of euros annuale under Wirecard CEO Markus Braun.

He collaborated with both Russian and Western intelligence, facilitating transfers for German agents and informants.

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Western authorities suspect Marsalek served as a Russian agent for a decade, using his position to establish connections with intelligence personnel. Wirecard provided services to the Russian intelligence SVR and GRU, including credit cards, bank accounts, and transfers to Africa and the Middle East.

Colleagues of Jan Marsalek revealed that he claimed to work with both Russian and Western intelligence agencies, bragging about visits to Syria and Libya. He boasted of transferring money to Russian spies and mercenaries during these trips.

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Wirecard, under Marsalek, collaborated with Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), facilitating money transfers for their agents abroad. Its services were crucial for BKA, accounting for a third of its informant-related transfers.

Marsalek allegedly hacked confidential data and gathered client information, raising concerns about compromising intelligence operations. There are suspicions that he shared acquired data with Russian intelligence.

Marsalek might have also collaborated with Wagner Group, aiding Russian authorities after the demise of Yevgeny Prigozhin.

He is believed to have around ten passports from different countries, traveling often on business. He has visited Moscow, for example, more than 60 times.

Investigations in the UK suggest he led a group facilitating Russian government dealings with European spies. Despite being on Interpol's most-wanted list, Marsalek managed to open a consulting agency in London using a Czech passport. Recently, Marsalek has been associated with Dubai, discussing arms purchases with a retired Russian intelligence officer and collaborating financially with Wagner Group in Africa after Prigozhin's death.

Germany has issued an international arrest warrant for fraud and securities law violations. Interestingly, the Financial Times first repoted about Marsalek’s connections with Russian security services in 2019, but BND chose to dismiss the findings.

Copy of the arrest warrant on the name of Jan Marsalek. 

Amateur video exposed Marsalek walking out of a residential building in Moscow where he lived under assumed names. He often changes the place to stay, therefore his exact location is still unknown.

In July 2022, a joint investigation by Dossier Center (Russia) and Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany) revealed that Marsalek was sworn in as a Russian citizen in June 2021 under the name of German Bazhenov, at a secret ceremony in Moscow. 

Jan Marsalek is currently under the protection of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), said the report, which is available in video format below, in English.