Episode 2: The Tech Boss Who Was Russia's Secret Spy
03/07/25 • 34 min
Former tech boss turned fugitive Jan Marsalek was living a double life as a Russian spy, having met his handler during a meeting on a yacht in Nice back in 2014.
Throughout his time at the company, he is accused of running operations on behalf of the Kremlin, from assembling a Libyan militia and running surveillance on enemies of the state to an alleged audacious plot to hijack the Austrian spy service.
In the second instalment of The Daily T Investigates: The Tech Boss who was Russia's Secret Spy, Hayley Dixon examines Marsalek’s relationship with the country and tracks down his closest friend to find out more about the man behind the headlines.
Reporter: Hayley Dixon
Producer: Georgia Coan
Executive Producers: Adélie Pojzman-Pontay and Louisa Wells
Original music by John Cadigan
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Former tech boss turned fugitive Jan Marsalek was living a double life as a Russian spy, having met his handler during a meeting on a yacht in Nice back in 2014.
Throughout his time at the company, he is accused of running operations on behalf of the Kremlin, from assembling a Libyan militia and running surveillance on enemies of the state to an alleged audacious plot to hijack the Austrian spy service.
In the second instalment of The Daily T Investigates: The Tech Boss who was Russia's Secret Spy, Hayley Dixon examines Marsalek’s relationship with the country and tracks down his closest friend to find out more about the man behind the headlines.
Reporter: Hayley Dixon
Producer: Georgia Coan
Executive Producers: Adélie Pojzman-Pontay and Louisa Wells
Original music by John Cadigan
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
Episode 1: The Tech Boss Who Was Russia's Secret Spy
A UK-based spy ring of Bulgarian nationals has been found guilty of espionage at the Old Bailey after a three-month trial. For almost three years, they’d been spying for Russia.
But the man believed to be behind it all is still on the run. Jan Marsalek was an Austrian tech boss, Chief Operating Officer of a successful payments processing company called Wirecard. Until it collapsed in 2020 amid a massive fraud scandal Marsalek is alleged to have been the mastermind behind.
Just days later, he fled Austria, taking a flight to Belarus. Despite international efforts to locate him, Marsalek's precise whereabouts remain uncertain. In a new three-part series for The Daily T, hosted by Special Correspondent Hayley Dixon, we reveal his double life as a spy for the Kremlin and what he’s been up to since he disappeared.
Reporter: Hayley Dixon
Producer: Georgia Coan
Executive Producers: Adélie Pojzman-Pontay and Louisa Wells
Original music by John Cadigan
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
Episode 3: The Tech Boss Who Was Russia's Secret Spy
A “sophisticated” UK-based spy ring passed secrets to Russia for nearly three years before they were prosecuted. It was revealed that the ring leader, a man named Orlin Roussev, had exchanged messages with a mysterious man code named ‘Rupert Ticz’.
The prosecutors revealed that the man was in fact Jan Marsalek, the fugitive ex-Wirecard chief operating officer, who is wanted in connection with a €1.9bn (£1.57bn) banking fraud.
For almost three years, he had gathered information on targets across Europe, planning kidnappings, murders and assaults alongside the spy ring.
In the third instalment of The Daily T Investigates: The Tech Boss Who Was Russia's Secret Spy, Hayley Dixon reveals the messages that were sent by Marsalek and uncover what he has been up to since he went on the run since June 2020.
Reporter: Hayley Dixon
Producer: Georgia Coan
Executive Producers: Adélie Pojzman-Pontay and Louisa Wells
Original music by John Cadigan
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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