"Everyone is completely upset" Did Jan Marsalek have contacts with the German secret service?

New research shows: Jan Marsalek could not only be one of Europe's biggest economic fraudsters, but also part of an opaque espionage network. His alleged contacts with the BND now raise questions.

He is considered the phantom of the digital financial age, the mastermind behind one of Europe's biggest economic scandals - and a suspected spy in the service of Russia: Jan Marsalek, former CEO of the insolvent payment service provider Wirecard, is at the center of new, explosive revelations.

And these now also shed a harsh light on possible contacts with Western intelligence services - above all the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), as the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" reports.

"Deny, deny, deny"

In the fall of 2020, while Marsalek was in Russia, the Austrian was surprisingly open in chats with his assistant Orlin Roussev: "The truth won't come out anyway. Everyone will just deny, deny, deny," he wrote on November 16.

At this point, Marsalek had already gone into hiding - apparently under the protection of the Russian authorities.

But things became explosive when he continued to speculate: A former Wirecard colleague could come clean about contacts with Western intelligence services. Marsalek even writes that he is expecting an "Epstein-style suicide" - an allusion that can hardly be surpassed in terms of cynicism.

Connections to the BND - just talk or reality?

What was previously circulating as a rumor seems to be gaining substance thanks to investigation files: According to "profil" and "Süddeutsche Zeitung", Austrian authorities suspect that Marsalek was actually in contact with the BND. In a chat, Marsalek asked his accomplice Roussev whether he still had access to a "German mobile phone number for the BND chat".

Marsalek boasted in 2022 that the BND had practically helped him buy special, highly secure SINA laptops. "I found someone that the BND actually wants to spy on, so they literally pushed us to buy the laptops 😂", he wrote.

Investigators see this as evidence that the German secret service could have been involved in this procurement operation - or that Marsalek at least successfully faked it.

From Vienna to the Lubyanka

A SINA laptop later turns up in Russia. The trail leads via Vienna and Istanbul to the infamous Lubyanka - the headquarters of the Russian FSB. The former FPÖ press spokesman Alexander Surowiec had officially bought several laptops for a "journalistic project".

Three of them ended up with Egisto Ott, a former top official of the Austrian Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Ott, who will soon stand trial, denies any espionage activities. The presumption of innocence applies.

But Marsalek rejoiced in December 2022: "The laptop has just passed through customs without any problems and is in the car to the Lubyanka. 👍" Apparently a technological coup for Russia: "Everyone is completely excited 😂", wrote Marsalek - hoping for medals.

BND remains silent - investigators warn of a split

Officially, the Federal Intelligence Service reacted with its usual restraint: as a matter of principle, it "does not comment publicly on any intelligence findings or activities".

Those close to the matter say only that there is no reason to reassess the Marsalek case.

However, internal investigators certainly see explosive material: if it turns out to be true that Marsalek exploited security gaps in Western devices for Russia - and possibly acted under the radar of Western services - this could severely shake the trust between the intelligence services.

A man with many faces

Jan Marsalek remains in hiding, his true role a puzzle with many missing pieces. One thing is certain: The man who once moved billions for a DAX company now moves Europe's security apparatuses. As a suspected fraudster, string-puller - and possibly as a spy who played between the fronts.