His last known photo shows the internationally wanted criminal wearing a Russian combat uniform and a large letter Z on his chest - a selfie greeting from Moscow. As ZDF recalls, five years have passed since the former director of Wirecard fled to the Russian capital after the scandal with the disappearance of 1.9 billion euros from the accounts of the German financial giant, which declared bankruptcy because of this. Austrian Jan Marsalek is also considered the head of an intelligence group that included six Bulgarians who planned and carried out numerous secret operations in Europe on behalf of the Russian state.
In Moscow, the fugitive enjoys the Kremlin's favor and is inaccessible to Western investigators, the German public media notes.
Marsalek works for the FSB
Reporters from several Western media outlets (ZDF, "Spiegel", the Austrian "Der Standart", the American program "Frontline" and "The Insider") managed to sniff out Marsalek in Moscow as part of a several-month investigation. A number of surveillance camera photos show the former financial manager in a tie and suit on his way from the metro station to the headquarters of the Russian secret service FSB. Between January and November 2024, his mobile phone was intercepted 304 times near the FSB headquarters in Moscow. Sources in Moscow have confirmed to Western journalists that the Austrian works for the Russian services.
The investigation has established that Marsalek uses multiple false identities, and recently acquired a real Russian passport. According to the document, he was born on February 22, 1978 in Riga, his new name is Alexander Mikhailovich Nelidov. ZDF has a copy of the passport.
Is Marsalek's new girlfriend an FSB courier?
Many of the photos obtained by journalists, including Hristo Grozev, show Marsalek in the company of a lady - her name is Tatyana Spiridonova, a 41-year-old translator. Acquaintances claim that Marsalek learned Russian thanks to her, and what is certain is that after his escape he regularly stayed in her apartment in the center of Moscow.
It is also believed that Spiridonova apparently carried out courier tasks on behalf of her agent friend. She traveled from Moscow to Istanbul at least twice, returning after only a few hours - according to information available to investigative journalists. At the end of December 2022, she probably brought a laptop to Russia, the security technology of which was of interest to the FSB.
Spiridonova's missions are also confirmed by chats that Western media have come across. For example, on December 12, 2022, shortly before midnight, Marsalek asked a question in connection with the transfer of the laptop at the Istanbul airport: “Where should my friend go when she lands?”. And more: “The girl suggested that the meeting take place in the bearer's office”. A day later, Marsalek announced that success had been achieved - the laptop passed through customs without any problems and “was in a car on the way to Lubyanka” (the FSB headquarters - ed.).
Marsalek was apparently also on the battlefield in Ukraine
The analysis of the data available to Western journalists also shows that Marsalek traveled to the areas of fighting in Eastern Ukraine and to Mariupol, occupied by the Russians. It is assumed that he performed tasks in the rear there, but there is no more specific information about his activities there.
As ZDF points out, Marsalek is wanted for fraud amounting to billions and on suspicion of espionage. The German public media also recalls that in May this year, a group of Bulgarians - members of an undercover spy network led by Marsalek - were convicted in Britain.
The case revealed plans to murder and kidnap Kremlin opponents in Europe, as well as espionage operations at military training grounds in Germany. Western journalists sent a list of questions to the fugitive Wirecard manager, but neither he nor his lawyer answered.