Jan Marsalek, the fugitive former Wirecard executive suspected of spying for Russia, claimed in messages to a jailed spy-ring leader that he helped topple Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in 2021.
The messages were sent on 22 October 2021 to Orlin Roussev under the alias "Rupert Ticz." They were detailed in investigation files seen by The Telegraph and the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network. Marsalek wrote that "we've successfully toppled" Kurz by confiscating the mobile phone of a person managing the former chancellor's secret campaign financing.
Kurz stepped down on 9 October 2021 following corruption allegations against his Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). The phone belonged to Thomas Schmid, a close adviser to Kurz and former senior official at the Austrian Finance Ministry. It was seized in November 2019. Messages recovered from the device later became key evidence in investigations into the alleged misuse of public funds for favorable media coverage.
Marsalek disappeared in June 2020 after Wirecard collapsed owing creditors almost $4 billion. British authorities have described his espionage activities as operating on an "industrial" scale. He is investigated for spying on behalf of Russia in Germany, Austria, and the UK. Roussev, who received instructions from Marsalek, was arrested in February 2023. Police found thousands of messages between them, including references to Russia's GRU military intelligence. Roussev was jailed in Britain for espionage.
The documents contain no independent evidence that Marsalek organized the seizure of Schmid's phone. An expert at RUSI, a British institute, suggested Marsalek may have exaggerated his role to enhance his reputation in intelligence circles. Two weeks after Kurz's resignation, Marsalek wrote to Roussev that the situation was "quite a messy story." He added that "the rest of the chats 'killed' the chancellor."
In May, a Vienna jury found former Austrian intelligence official Egisto Ott guilty of spying for Russia. He was found to have provided Marsalek and Russian intelligence officers with information. He also helped Russia hunt down opponents and sold state laptops and phones at Marsalek's behest. Several countries' security agencies have assessed that the Kremlin aims to destabilize governments across Europe.
