In the middle of the street

Marsalek wanted to torch famous journalist

Jan Marsalek has been on the run since June 2020 and is believed to be in Russia.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Kirill Kudryavtsev, eumostwanted.eu, Krone KREATIV)

It is a sensational trial against a group of Bulgarians in Great Britain. The accusation is espionage for Russia. The gang was allegedly led by none other than ex-Wirecard board member Jan Marsalek (44). It has now become known that another famous investigative journalist was to be brutally murdered - on behalf of the fugitive Austrian.

Between 2020 and 2023, five Bulgarian citizens carried out various operations in the UK, Germany, Austria, Spain and Montenegro on behalf of Russian intelligence services. They primarily collected information and monitored people and objects that were "of interest to the Russian state", reports the British public broadcaster BBC.

Orlin Rusyev (46) and Biser Dzhambazov (43) have confessed. Katrin Ivanova (33), Vanya Gaberova (30) and Tikhomir Ivanchev (39) are currently facing serious charges at the Central Criminal Court in London.

During the trial, it came to light that the defendants had worked under the guidance of Rusyev, who in turn had received instructions from Marsalek. The Austrian had acted as an "intermediary for the Russian secret services".

Editor-in-chief of The Insider targeted
One of the targets was the UK-based editor-in-chief of the Russian-language internet newspaper The Insider, Roman Dobrokhotov:

At the end of November, it had already come to light in court that the five Bulgarians had planned the kidnapping and murder of investigative journalist Christo Grozev.

The Insider

• Russian-language internet newspaper
• Founded in November 2013 by political scientist Roman Dobrokhotov
• Conducts investigative research, also in cooperation with Bellingcat, such as on the poison attack on Alexei Navalny
• Christo Grozev has headed the research since 2023

In August 2022, Rusyev and Marsalek are said to have discussed kidnapping Dobrokhotov by boat. After the failed assassination attempt with the nerve agent Novichok on the Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March 2018, a successful operation on UK soil would of course be fantastic, Marsalek enthused at the time.

Young woman probably cooperated out of fear
Dobrokhotov is believed to have shadowed the accused 33-year-old Katrin Ivanova in particular. Among other things, she used a camera hidden in a shoulder strap for this purpose. Rusyev forwarded her observations to Marsalek and wrote: "Our 'agent' was very attentive and even sent the PIN code of the cell phone." Marsalek replied with a smiley face: "She was probably afraid that she would otherwise be poisoned with Novichok herself."

They then proceeded to plan an assassination attempt on the investigative journalist. According to the report, Rusyev suggested making him look like an "accident" in the shower. But that was "not dramatic enough" for Marsalek.

Murder "like the North Koreans"
"Maybe we should torch him in the street, spray him like the North Koreans with a super strong acid, like (the chemical warfare agent, note) VX, or poison him with ricin," Marsalek wrote. "An 'accident' in the shower will not deter the others. We need a dramatic story," the Austrian, who is still on the run, showed no mercy.

Later, however, the ex-Wirecard board member rowed back. The reason: legitimate concerns had been expressed that "we should not carry out such an operation with a team that has never done anything like this before in the country of residence of some of its members."