This is another element of the spy thriller surrounding the former director of the German financial giant Wirecard, Jan Marsalek. A Bulgarian woman living in Vienna was also probably among the associates of one of the most wanted men in Europe. That is why she was recently (on December 7) visited by the police, ARD reported. The 48-year-old woman was temporarily detained, and her home was searched for hours.
The accusation: she was part of a European network of amateur agents who, under the leadership of the fugitive Marsalek, carried out espionage tasks for Russia.
This is clear from the documents on the detention of the Bulgarian woman, which are available to the German media WDR, NDR and "Süddeutsche Zeitung", as well as the Austrian publication "Profil". What seems increasingly clear: the network of collaborators that Marsalek and probably the Russian secret services in Europe could have had at their disposal is clearly larger than previously thought.
The London Trial and the Vienna Trace
As ARD notes, the central place in the investigations is played by the trial conducted in London against Marsalek's local helpers. This case covers six operations, including the spying on Bulgarian investigative journalist Hristo Grozev - it is believed that the Bulgarian woman from Vienna played a role in this plan while Grozev lived in the Austrian capital.
According to German media reports, she met in Vienna in 2021 with one of the defendants in the London trial. The accusations against her are that in 2021 she rented an apartment through Airbnb with a view of Grozev's then-address. The woman from Vienna, who is believed to have replaced the card on a camera and downloaded photos from it, also appeared in this apartment. There are also indications that multiple suspects were staying in the Austrian capital near her address.
According to investigations by German media and "Profil", after the search in early December, the woman gave testimony. She met one of the Bulgarian women on trial in London years ago at a manicure studio in Sofia. The two maintained loose contact on social media until the accused contacted her in the summer of 2021. Austrian investigators suggest that it was important for the Bulgarian group operating from England to have good contact in Vienna - with a compatriot who also speaks German.
The Bulgarian woman has been released for now
During the interrogation in Vienna, the woman said that she knew nothing about possible espionage operations. She did not know Jan Marsalek. Her acquaintance initially told her that she could help her open a manicure studio in Vienna. Then it became a matter of an Interpol operation - for this purpose she was supposed to photograph houses and observe people and their habits.
Although the Austrian services considered the Bulgarian woman "very suspicious" - for now she has been released in accordance with the presumption of innocence.
ARD writes that Marsalek apparently had no difficulty in finding collaborators for the planned actions with the help of Bulgarian Orlin Rusev - and it seems that his network may have been much larger. Therefore, Austrian intelligence in the meantime believes that there are other, as yet unknown members of the Marsalek network.
Traces to Germany
One of the traces may also lead to Germany, notes ARD. Since the three defendants in London are also believed to have spied on an American military base near Stuttgart. Ukrainian soldiers were trained there. In his chats with Marsalek, the alleged leader of the London group had mentioned a Bulgarian woman in Stuttgart, whom he already knew from a previous action.
Authors: Manuel Bevarder (ARD) | Florian Flade (ARD)