Jan Marsalek (néMaršálek; born 15 March 1980) is an Austrian fugitive businessman. From 2010 to 2020, he was the chief operating officer of German payment processing firm Wirecard, which became insolvent and collapsed in 2020. Marsalek was responsible for the company's business in Asia, where the company admitted nearly €2 billion in cash it supposedly held did not exist.[2]
Marsalek and the rest of the company's executive team was fired on 18 June 2020, after which he fled Germany. He is reportedly fugitive in Russia after Interpol issued a Red Notice for his arrest due to his alleged role in the Wirecard scandal. According to investigation he had been recruited by Russian intelligence at least since 2010.[3]
Early life
Marsalek went to school in Austria, but did not obtain a degree.[4] Marsalek's grandfather, Hans Maršálek, was a member of the Austrian resistance and later a suspected spy for the Soviet Union.[5] At the age of 19, Marsalek Jr. founded an e-commerce software company.[citation needed]
Career with Wirecard
He started working for Wirecard in 2000 and was initially hired for his knowledge on WAP systems. On 1 February 2010, he became the firm's chief operating officer and also joined the company executive committee.[6]
Marsalek and the rest of Wirecard's executive team were fired on 18 June 2020. According to Bellingcat, Marsalek told colleagues he was going to the Philippines to prove his innocence, before going missing.[7] Marsalek is considered a key suspect by German authorities in the Wirecard scandal, in which the company inflated its balance sheet, eventually leading to the company's collapse in 2020.[1]
His last known residence was in Munich.[8] An investigation by Bellingcat, Der Spiegel and The Insider indicated that Marsalek flew to Minsk, Belarus, hours after he was fired from Wirecard.[7] On 19 July 2020, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported that Marsalek was suspected to be in Russia, where he was believed to live under supervision of the Russian GRU in a mansion near Moscow.[9] According to Die Welt, the BND had information in 2020 that Marsalek was at a Russian FSB training center in Balashikha, a suburb of Moscow.[6]
At the request of Germany, Interpol issued a red notice for Marsalek in August 2020. The notice is a formal request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and arrest him, pending extradition.[10]
In May 2021, the German BND assessed that Marselek remained near Moscow. The Russian government claimed it was unaware of Marsalek's location.[6] According to Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Dossier Center, Marsalek received Russian citizenship and had at least two fake Russian passports in 2021. He reportedly lived under FSB protection at the Meyendorff Castle.[11]
Allegations of ties to Russian intelligence
As of 2020, Marsalek was a person of interest to at least three Western intelligence agencies due to his associations with the Russian GRU. In Munich, Marsalek lived opposite the Russian consulate.[1] Russian media and Germany's governing coalition reported that Marsalek made contacts with Russian intelligence through the Austrian-Russian Friendship Society.[6] Among his associates were former GRU colonel Andrey Chuprygin. Marsalek reportedly boasted to companions about his trips to Palmyra, Syria, as a "guest of the Russian military".[1]
Since 2015, Marsalek reportedly discussed the Libyan crisis with representatives of the Russian government. A company linked to Marsalek by the Financial Times was used by the Wagner Group to stage personnel.[1]
In September 2023 the trial of five Bulgarian nationals accused of being part of a Russian spying network began in the UK. The prosecution alleges that the network had been given tasking by Jan Marsalek.[12]
In 2023 the investigation concluded Marsalek was recruited as a Russian intelligence agent for at least a decade.[3]
