Fugitive Wirecard Executive Named As A Coordinator In Russian Spy Ring
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A former executive at Wirecard, Jan Marsalek, is being accused of being the mastermind of a Russian spy ring. Marsalek is accused of operating a spy ring operating outside the UK.
The accusations against Marsalek come as part of a court case. In this case, five Bulgarian nationals are also accused of working together to gather information that will benefit an enemy state between August 2020 and February this year.
Former Wirecard Executive Is Behind A Russian Spy Ring
According to the statements issued in court, the home of one of the suspects in this case, Orlin Roussev, was used as a center for the alleged spying activity. Additionally, one individual named “Jan Marsalek” was accused of being the “tasker.”
Marsalek is a former executive at Wirecard, a company that filed for bankruptcy in June 2020. The bankruptcy filing comes after the company revealed that 1.9 billion euros was missing from its accounts.
Wirecard’s CEO, Markus Braun, was arrested following the bankruptcy filing and later charged with fraud and enabling the manipulation of the company’s accounts. Braun later denied these charges.
Marsalek is currently a fugitive, with Interpol issuing a warrant for his arrest. While working at Wirecard, Marsalek served as the company’s chief operating officer. He is believed to have escaped to a location close to Moscow after the company’s collapse.
Spying On The Behalf Of Russia
Marsalek has not been formally charged in the Russian spy case. However, the prosecutor in the case, Kathryn Selby, said that the defendants in the matter were operating a UK-based espionage ring.
The prosecutor noted that all five suspects were “part of an organized network of UK-based Bulgarian nationals conducting surveillance and other information gathering activities.”
These individuals reportedly conducted these activities against individuals and institutions on behalf of Russia. The prosecutor added that the individuals conducted hostile actions against targets, in some cases even abducting the targets.
The suspects face a similar conspiracy charge to commit an offense outside England and Wales. They are accused of making these offenses against the state.
The five suspects were arrested earlier this year by the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command. The arrest was made per the Official Secrets Act. They are remanded in custody and expected to appear again in court on October 13.
