Berlin has noted the recent media reports alleging that ex-Wirecard chief operating officer Jan Marsalek has fled to Russia, although no further comment will be made on the matter by the German government at this time, spokesman for the country's Foreign Ministry Christopher Burger said on Monday
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th July, 2020) Berlin has noted the recent media reports alleging that ex-Wirecard chief operating officer Jan Marsalek has fled to Russia, although no further comment will be made on the matter by the German government at this time, spokesman for the country's Foreign Ministry Christopher Burger said on Monday.
"We have taken note of the information that has appeared in the media. In principle, we do not comment on unfinished investigations. Therefore, I will not comment on the speculation regarding Marsalek's whereabouts," Burger said at a press briefing.
The German magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday said that Marsalek, a central figure in the collapse of the Wirecard payments company, had originally traveled to Belarus via Estonia.
One day later, the German newspaper Handelsblatt alleged that Marsalek had been brought to Russia and was currently based near Moscow under the protection of the country's secret services. According to the newspaper, Marsalek, an Austrian national, had transferred a significant amount of Bitcoin from Dubai to Russia.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said that the Kremlin has no information regarding Marsalek's whereabouts.
Wirecard was plunged into a scandal in late June and filed for insolvency after it was revealed that 1.9 billion Euros ($2.1 billion) in cash was missing from its balance sheets. Former CEO Markus Braun resigned and was arrested on charges of inflating the company's value through fake transactions.
