Heir to Putin’s chef? – Marsalek is now believed to manage Prigozhin’s empire

At the time of his disappearance, Marasalek had been active for the Kremlin for almost ten years, the renowned American newspaper reports. The born Austrian is said to have mainly worked for the Russian military intelligence service GRU and the foreign intelligence service SWR.

Support from secret services
During his time at Wirecard, he allegedly hid financing from the Russian authorities through the company, allowing money to flow to conflict areas in the Middle East and Africa.

Wirecard also managed to win German state institutions as customers. The German Federal Intelligence Service and the Federal Criminal Police Office used the company’s credit cards and bank accounts for their agents. Marsalek is said to have managed to route sensitive customer data to Moscow, even though he did not have permission to do so. A Kremlin spokeswoman denied links between Marsalek and Russian intelligence services to the Wall Street Journal.

Marsalek in the desert
Today, Marsalek, one of the most wanted men in the world, is said to be based mainly in the United Arab Emirates. In Dubai – with a new Russian identity, people in secret service circles are apparently sure. From the desert city, the dubious businessman would help reorganize the empire of ex-Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who apparently fell victim to an assassination attempt a few months ago.

Marsalek, who is said to have had several contacts with Russian secret services before the disclosure report, is considered a key figure in the Wirecard scandal. He disappeared shortly before the financial technology group went bankrupt three and a half years ago and is wanted on an international arrest warrant.

In July this year, the Austrian sent the first known sign of life since his escape via a lawyer’s letter.

The loss of billions
Wirecard went bankrupt in June 2020 when it was discovered that 1.9 billion euros were missing from blocked accounts in Asia. Marsalek was responsible for the Asian activities. Former boss Markus Braun and two other ex-managers are in the dock for falsifying accounts and gang fraud. It is said that they have devised multi-billion dollar contracts with so-called external partners.

Braun, on the other hand, stated that the money existed and had been set aside behind his back. In the July 6 letter, attorney Frank Eckstein explained on behalf of Marsalek that the third-party company existed and continued to operate even after Wirecard’s bankruptcy.