Former Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek, wanted for large-scale fraud and suspected of being a Russian spy directing espionage operations across Europe, claimed in private messages that he could supply nuclear weapons for the right price.
The messages were uncovered during an investigation into the case of six Bulgarian nationals arrested for spying on behalf of Russia in the United Kingdom and across Europe.
In an April 2021 message to ringleader Orlin Roussev, Marsalek wrote: “Together we can pretty much organise anything they need except nukes,” before adding, “even the nukes if they pay.”
According to British authorities, the six defendants: three men and three women, were involved in surveillance, disinformation, and kidnapping plots from 2020 to 2023. The operations, targeting journalists, political dissidents, and Ukrainian military personnel, were carried out not only in the U.K. but also in Austria, Spain, Germany, and Montenegro.
British prosecutors described the operation as “industrial-scale espionage” carried out under Russian direction.
According to authorities, Roussev, 47, led the group from a guesthouse in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. He reported to Marsalek, who fled Germany in 2020 after his company, Wirecard, collapsed with a £1.6 billion shortfall. Marsalek is at large and believed to be hiding in Moscow.
Marsalek also told Roussev in May 2021: “In my new role as an international fugitive, I must outperform James Bond.”
Other messages presented by the prosecution showed Marsalek saying he believed a “successful operation on British soil would be amazing” in the wake of the Skripal poisonings in Salisbury.
Other intercepted messages revealed Marsalek discussing setting up a pornography website dedicated to Russians.
Meanwhile, the six defendants either pleaded guilty or were convicted of charges related to conspiring to spy on behalf of Russia, with their sentences scheduled to be handed down on Monday, following four days of hearings at London’s Old Bailey court, according to reports.
