German media are publishing information indicating that the Bulgarian Orlin Rusev, convicted of espionage for Russia, has also maintained suspicious contacts with China. What do journalistic investigations show?
In addition to the accusations of fraud for billions of dollars, Jan Marsalek is in the spotlight for another reason - the Austrian is considered a Russian agent. It is alleged that he fled to Russia in 2020, and now continues his activities remotely from Moscow.
Investigation by the German media WDR, NDR and “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (ZC) shows that Marsalek also worked with other countries - especially China. Journalists analyzed over 200,000 messages that Marsalek exchanged with the recently convicted Bulgarian Orlin Rusev for espionage in favor of Russia. The communication between the two shows that Marsalek played the role of an intermediary between Rusev and Moscow, and the goal was to make deals - with food products, vaccines, and finally military equipment.
“Wish list” from China
So at the end of January 2023, shortly before the six Bulgarians were arrested in London, Rusev told Marsalek that he had met with a representative of the Chinese army, who asked him “to preserve the maximum amount of American and NATO weapons that were captured in Ukraine - no matter what condition they are”. Rusev tells the Austrian that he will receive a "wish list" from China.
In another conversation, Rusev again mentions "our Chinese friends" who ask if they can sell them captured Ukrainian-American "Switchblade" drones. According to the Bulgarian, the request came from the Chinese navy. Marsalek confirms that six such drones will be approved for shipment the very next day. However, it is not clear from the chats whether the deal has been realized.
"Something like Starlink" for Russia
The conversations between Marsalek and Rusev also directly discuss the possibilities for cooperation between China and Russia. "Let's work with your Chinese spies to develop a strategy for cooperation with Russia on some important issues," the Austrian suggests. One of these important issues is to provide Moscow with “something like Starlink”, the journalists explain.
The conversations between the Bulgarian and the Austrian also show some specific activities that are being carried out for China. In May 2022, Marsalek learned that Munich is considered the center of the Uyghur diaspora in Europe - the Uyghurs are a Muslim minority group repressed by the regime in Beijing. Marsalek suggests that Rusev ask “his Chinese friends” if they would be interested in deploying agents in this community. “I sent a message to the office in Beijing”, the Bulgarian replies. However, it seems that Rusev's Chinese contacts have not shown interest.
By all accounts, this proposal is an isolated case. When the two talk about China, the topics are usually related to other things. Some of the messages that the two exchange are apparently speculation. Marsalek, for example, tells Rusev that his "special forces friends" are discussing the possibility that China could launch an attack on Taiwan by "organizing a pandemic" to use as a pretext for a blockade of the island.
Boasting and Doubts
Many of the messages exchanged between the two contain confidential information. Marsalek once tells Rusev that he can "provide basically anything they want, except nuclear weapons... and even nuclear weapons if they pay." It is difficult to judge how much of this is serious and how much is just empty bragging. It has not been proven whether Marsalek and his Bulgarian agent Rusev had real contacts with the Chinese army or intelligence, as they claim, or whether they talked to intermediaries and criminals.
It seems that Marsalek doubted the veracity of the information that Rusev shared with him, because the Bulgarian had a habit of hyperbolizing. For example, Marsalek demanded that Rusev tell him exactly who his contact was in the Chinese army, because “no one wants to take the first step if they don't know for sure that this is not just an initiative of some incompetent person on the Chinese side”, the Austrian wrote to his Bulgarian agent. Marsalek also repeatedly offered to travel to China together with a representative of Russia in order to dispel Russian doubts on this issue. According to him, however, in Russia “they don't want to take risks” - something that really unnerved the Austrian.