ON the run from Interpol for spearheading a UK-based spy ring, a former tech boss-turned fugitive is now living a cushy life in Moscow working for Vladimir Putin.
The jawdropping tale of Jan Marsalek is so unbelievable it would be “implausible if you found it in a spy novel”, a Russia expert told The Sun.
The hunt for tech boss and Russian spy Jan Marsalek kicked off in 2020
East2WestThe ex-Wirecard boss Marsalek has been spotted with lover Tatiana Spiridonova[/caption]
East2WestHe has a roster of model ex-girlfriends, inclduing Natalia Zlobina, also dubbed the ‘naked spy’[/caption]
Spymaster Marsalek used to be the boss of a major German tech company called Wirecard, before it mysteriously collapsed in 2020 with £1.6billion missing from its coffers.
The sleazy Kremlin asset made a run for it, with Interpol issuing a red notice for him shortly after.
In a bombshell twist, it was revealed that while leading the company, Marsalek was a Russian informant for over a decade – and even ran a honeytrap spy ring in the UK.
The espionage team headed by Marsalek passed secrets to Russia and plotted to kidnap Putin critics.
Russia expert Keir Giles told The Sun: “It really is quite spectacular what he managed to get away with for [so] long.”
Bulgarian nationals Orlin Roussev, Biser Dzhambazov, Katrin Ivanova, Tihomir Ivanchev, Ivan Stoyanov and Vanya Gaberova were jailed for over 50 years for gathering intel on Kremlin targets.
While his scheming crewmates have all been thrown behind bars, playboy Marsalek has since been partying in Russia with naked women, mafia members and fellow spies, according to his leaked messages.
Now operating under Putin’s security services, reports also claim the 45-year-old – who is one of the world’s most wanted men – has even fought in Ukraine.
Analyst Giles emphasised how extraordinary Marsalek’s getaway to Russia was, despite being sought after by so many countries for a slew of crimes.
Marsalek – who reportedly owns eight different passports – is believed to have escaped to Belarus and then Russia with the help of an ex-Austrian intelligence officer in 2020.
Giles said: “All of these [factors] would be barely credible if you put them in a book and yet here he is.
“A real life indicator of just how effective Russia’s espionage campaigns against the west can be.”
The baffled expert added: “The story of Janmar Salek would be implausible if you found it in a spy novel.”
Marsalek is wanted for fraud and is being investigated for espionage in several European nations – but has so far managed to dodge the clutches of authorities.
Even though the manhunt for him is so pressing, Giles warned it would not be easy to get the Federal Security Service (FSB) operative out of Russia’s hands.
He suggested the cunning spymaster “may be beyond the reach of Western law enforcement agencies”.
Citing previous examples, he explained how there have been numerous Russian cyber criminals and military officers who have been subjected to Western and US indictments.
But many of these charges have amounted to nothing.
Marsalek’s new girlfriend and language teacher Tatiana Spiridonova was pictured walking with himEast2West
East2WestHe now works for Russian security services and has travelled to the frontline in Ukraine[/caption]
East2WestMarsalek pictured in Moscow this month[/caption]
EPARussia expert Keri Giles told The Sun he had recently seen wanted posters for Marsalek in Germany[/caption]
Despite the seemingly impossible task of getting Marsalek to face the music, Giles explained the situation has not stopped authorities trying to get a hold of him.
“It is not unusual for indictments to be issued or charges to be prepared against people who are beyond the reach of these agencies,” he said.
Giles even told how he had recently seen wanted posters for Marsalek in Germany – illustrating just how desperate the search has become.
The Russia watcher said: “Just yesterday, I was passing through Munich airport.
“There are still wanted posters up for him, asking for information about his whereabouts.”
Last week, bombshell images pictured Marsalek for the first time since he disappeared, strolling in Moscow with a new lover and a hair transplant – seemingly to throw off those hunting him.
Phone data and CCTV footage of Marsalek pieced together by The Insider and Der Spiegel showed the Putin asset travelling to and from his job at the FSB headquarters.
The runaway boss has also taken on a new role carrying out “combat missions” with special forces soldiers in occupied Ukraine, the report says.
German police told The Sun: “The report in Der Spiegel and other media outlets does not provide any new leads for the investigations conducted by the Munich I public prosecutor’s office.
“Regarding the search for Marsalek, all available approaches are being examined – as before.”
Marsalek used to be the boss of a major tech company in Germany
East2WestEx-Wirecard fugitive boss and billionaire Jan Marsalek, pictured in Moscow before his hair transplant[/caption]
East2WestErotic model Zlobina is believed to have recruited Marsalek[/caption]
East2WestOne of Marsalek’s passports with a different name[/caption]
Asked about Marsalek’s possible combat activity in Ukraine, Giles said this was not surprising to him.
“It wouldn’t surprise me that the FSB is still making use of him,” he said.
“It would surprise me if the FSB were making use of him somewhere where he might fall within the reach of Western intelligence and law enforcement agencies.”
Marsalek has also collaborated with Russian private armies and has been involved in the clandestine supply of drones to help Putin’s forces in Ukraine, The Telegraph reported.
Carefully balancing his double life, he was an ostensibly innocent tech boss by day and Kremlin spy by night – a role which he played for at least a decade.
He reportedly had access to a wide network of spies and police in the UK, the US, Germany, Austria, Israel, Italy and Switzerland.
It is believed he was first recruited by Natalia Zlobina, a former erotic model, B-movie actress, and fellow Putin agent known as the “naked spy”.
PABiser Dzhambazov was a leading member of the spy ring who had an affair with a fellow agent[/caption]
East2WestDzhambazov secretly slept with beautician and spy Vanya Gaberova[/caption]
Dzhambazov cheated on his romantic partner Katrin Ivanova, also convicted of conspiring to spy for RussiaEast2West
The spy ring Marsalek headed in the UK worked out of an unassuming Great Yarmouth House, with members Ivanova and Gaberova known as the “killer sexy brunettes”.
The unit even became embroiled in a love triangle after it was revealed Dzhambazov had secretly been sleeping with Gaberova despite being in a relationship with Ivanova.
Marsalek and the six convicted spies – who taking inspirations from the film Despicable Me called themselves the “minions” – carried out espionage of Putin’s political enemies “on an industrial scale”.
The case was dubbed one of the “largest and most complex” enemy operations to be uncovered on UK soil.
Initially hired for his knowledge of WAP systems, Marsalek started working for Wirecard in 2000.
The charismatic and eloquent Austrian became the company’s chief operating officer after ten years.
PAThe house in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, where Marsalek’s ring operated[/caption]
Free for editorial useOne of Jan Marsalek’s eight passports[/caption]
But in June 2020, the firm said billions of euros had vanished from two of their accounts in the Philippines – both of which were under Marsalek’s supervision.
Wirecard eventually collapsed and later described the ordeal as a case of “elaborate and sophisticated fraud”.
Marsalek then vanished without a trace, becoming one of the world’s most notorious fugitives.
The former company head reportedly told colleagues he would be flying to the Philippines to prove his innocence.
But that day he met Martin Weiss, a former member of Austrian intelligence, for pizza in Munich.
It is believed that Weiss helped the ex-tycoon fly to Belarus and then cross to Russia – the last time he travelled under his real name.
WirecardHe used to head a major firm while simultaneously working as a spy[/caption]
East2WestJan Marsalek’s new girlfriend, Russian intelligence operative Tatiana Spiridonova[/caption]
Marsalek was then seen at a Russian FSB training centre in the Balashikha suburb, German media reported at the time.
And according to the Dossier Center, Marsalek received Russian citizenship and lived under FSB protection at the Meyendorff Castle.
The fugitive has multiple aliases, one of which is reportedly an Orthodox priest who closely resembles his physical appearance.
He was reportedly a lifelong Russophile – with reports of him having links to key figures in the Russian government and the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence.
His office in Munich was said to be decorated with Russian dolls – and his mansion was even located right across the Russian consulate.
Marsalek was a frequent visitor to Russia, having travelled to Moscow, Kazan, St. Petersburg, and Nizhny Novgorod in the past decade.
To all German inquiries regarding Marsalek’s whereabouts, Moscow has denied there is an Austrian citizen living in the country under that name.
In the note of Interpol’s Red list, Marsalek is pictured in one photo as a clean-cut executive while in the other one, he is shown with a thick beard that makes him look distinctively different.
EPAA wanted billboard for Marsalek appealing for information[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
