Tag: Jan Marsalek

A London court has delivered a seismic verdict in the ongoing saga of Wirecard, the collapsed German fintech giant: six Bulgarian nationals have been convicted and sentenced for spying on behalf of Russian intelligence, acting under the direct orders of Wirecard’s fugitive former COO, Jan Marsalek. This marks the first time a court has definitively established that Wirecard, under Marsalek’s leadership.

A few months ago, FinTelegram released a first forensic report on the bankruptcy of Rabidi N.V., a Curacao-registered online casino operator with hundreds of millions in revenues — and no traceable assets by the time of its collapse in May 2024. That report already raised serious questions about the opaque structures behind Rabidi’s operations and its successor, Liernin Enterprises Ltd.

The conviction of three Bulgarian nationals in London has shed new light on the murky intersection between financial fraud and Russian espionage. A jury at the Old Bailey found the three guilty of spying for Russia, operating as part of a sophisticated intelligence network allegedly orchestrated by Wirecard’s fugitive COO, Jan Marsalek. Investigators revealed that Marsalek, who fled Germany in 2020 following the collapse of Wirecard, directed espionage operations across Europe.

Jan Marsalek, born on March 15, 1980, in Vienna, Austria, served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Wirecard from 2010 until its collapse in 2020. An Austrian citizen, Marsalek was instrumental in expanding Wirecard's operations, particularly in Asia. However, his tenure ended in scandal when it was revealed that approximately €1.9 billion were missing from the company's accounts, leading to its insolvency.

The Wirecard scandal continues to unravel as James Henry O’Sullivan, a British businessman and close confidant of fugitive Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek, takes the stand in a Singapore fraud trial. O’Sullivan, accused of falsifying escrow account records that allegedly contained billions in Wirecard reserves, revealed damning insights into Marsalek’s clandestine operations.

A deep-dive investigation by Bavarian broadcaster BR has exposed significant connections between the collapsed Wirecard and Berlin-based SoftSwiss, run by Belarussian national Ivan Montik. The report, part of BR's Gambling without Rules series, highlights SoftSwiss' extensive role in operating illegal online casinos targeting Germany.

In light of recent court findings across multiple jurisdictions, it has become increasingly clear that the ongoing trial of former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun may be fundamentally flawed. The crux of this issue lies in the apparent failure to fully incorporate the now-established activities of fugitive ex-COO Jan Marsalek into the proceedings. This not only jeopardizes the fairness of Braun's trial but also risks obscuring the true nature and extent of the Wirecard scandal.

Since December 2022, former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun and two former executives, Oliver Bellenhaus and Stephan von Erffa, have faced charges, including falsifying the group's balance sheets. According to the German prosecutors, the so-called third-party acquirer (TPA) "did not actually exist." The former COO Jan Marsalek remains on the run. Meanwhile, former auditor EY faces massive lawsuits.

On August 20, 2024, Joshua Cartu, 45, a prominent figure in the notorious Cartu Brothers‘ binary options fraud scheme, was detained in Russia. Court press service said Cartu was under an Interpol Red Notice due to accusations that he was part of a group that defrauded investors between 2013 and 2017. The Cartu Brothers operated the GreyMountain Management (GMM) Binary Options fraud scheme. On August 24, 2024, Cartu was released.

The Wirecard trials in Germany continue unperturbed despite the confusion surrounding the espionage affair involving former Management Board member Jan Marsalek. Four years after Wirecard collapsed, former chief financial officer Alexander von Knoop and former chief product officer Susanne Steidl have been charged with breach of trust. The charges are part of the ongoing investigation into one of Europe’s largest accounting scandals.

As the trial of former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun unfolds in Munich, a new twist in the Wirecard saga emerges, intertwining financial scandal with espionage intrigue. Recent revelations by Austrian law enforcement have uncovered that Jan Marsalek, the fugitive former COO of Wirecard, allegedly paid €500,000 to "Austrian spies" in September 2017. This discovery has profound implications for the ongoing trial and raises questions about the extent of Russian involvement in the Wirecard collapse.

It had to happen. In the only reasonable twist, the Wirecard trial has seen a significant shift with the resignation of star defense lawyer Alfred Dierlamm. Reportedly, Dierlamm resigned due to financial constraints, leaving the defense of Markus Braun, the accused CEO of the collapsed Wirecard, in the hands of a new advocate, Theres Kraußlach. She has requested that the criminal file of fugitive Jan Marsalek be included.