The former chief operating officer of the defunct German fintech giant Wirecard, who fled to Russia in 2020 to evade possible prosecution on embezzlement and fraud charges, spied for Moscow for years, according to an investigation by German, Austrian, and Russian media outlets published on March 1.
Among the findings of the investigative article by journalists with ZDF, the German magazine Spiegel, the Austrian newspaper Der Standard, and The Insider is that Jan Marsalek, the shady central figure in the implosion of the German digital-payment-services provider, changed his identity while in Russia.
The journalists obtained a copy of Marsalek's current Russian passport in which he is identified as Konstantin Bayazov. The reporters found out that a man with that name is an Orthodox priest residing in the Russian city of Lipetsk southeast of Moscow. The priest resembles Marsalek, and their birthdates are only one year apart.
Marsalek appears to have assumed Bayazov's identity to be able to travel, the investigative journalists reported. The priest said he had no comment on their findings.
"I have told you that you journalists must understand that we cannot speak with you," Bayazov told ZDF.
The investigation also uncovered details about Marsalek's Russian friend Natalia Zlobina, who in 2014 introduced him to Stanislav Petlinsky, who ultimately helped Marsalek establish contacts with representatives of Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU).
Zlobina, a former erotic model who is identified in the investigation as his lover, had been "attached" to Marsalek and assigned to recruit him to collaborate with Russian secret services.
Petlinsky, who calls himself "a security consultant," told the journalists while meeting with them in Dubai that he had introduced Marsalek to "some influential persons in Russia" up to the level of lawmakers, but not to secret service employees and he denied that Marsalek worked for the Russian secret services.
Petlinsky met with Marsalek in his office in Munich opposite the Russian consulate, where Marsalek regularly met with influential people active in politics, business, and national security officials, the investigation reports.
Meanwhile, some security officials in the West say they have information about Petlinsky's cooperation with Russian secret services.
Petlinsky confirmed to the investigative journalists that in 2017 he and Marsalek visited Wagner mercenary group troops in Syria and took part in recruiting Russian mercenaries for military operations in Libya.
The investigation said it was very likely that Marsalek, while representing Wirecard, used a network of firms to buy out assets of Russia's RSB Group, a provider of services to military mercenaries across the world.
Austrian investigators say Marsalek was part of a secret services' cell providing them business opportunities and authority.
"The intensive investigations...substantiate the suspicion and point to an intelligence network that is well established in Austria...around the Austrian citizen Jan Marsalek, who is still a fugitive," a report by the Austrian special investigator said.
In addition, British authorities say Marsalek led a Russian spy network in London that followed individuals the Kremlin did not like, including Christo Grozev of the Bellingcat investigative group, which investigated Marsalek's activities.
Marsalek's lawyer refused to comment on the situation to the investigative journalists.
Wirecard, a company that was once listed in Germany's DAX index of top-tier companies, plunged into crisis in 2020 when auditors pointed to a massive 1.9 billion-euro ($2.06 billion) hole in its accounts, sending the once high-flying company into insolvency.
Marsalek is wanted by German and Austrian authorities on suspicion of embezzlement and fraud.
Since the collapse of Wirecard, interest in Marsalek has expanded beyond his role in Wirecard to include his other business and political interests.
The Financial Times reported in July that Marsalek was a person of interest to at least three Western intelligence agencies over his association with individuals or networks linked to Russia’s GRU.