He Stole €2 Billion and Vanished Into Russia

The most valuable fintech in Europe was worth more than Deutsche Bank. Its profits never existed. And the man who ran the money machine was working for Russian intelligence the whole time. This is the full story of Wirecard: the fraud Germany defended for five years, the reporter it tried to prosecute, and the executive now living free in Moscow. CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold Open 1:02 The Second Man 3:59 The Reporter 7:08 The Fortress 10:28 Seven Days in June 13:02 The Ghost 14:48 The Asset 17:32 The Blindness KEY SOURCES Dan McCrum and the Financial Times investigation (2015-2020), and McCrum's book "Money Men": https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2015/04/2... https://www.ft.com/wirecard FT on Marsalek and the Novichok documents (July 2020): https://www.ft.com/content/941a9a2e-8... The Insider / Der Spiegel / ZDF / PBS Frontline joint investigation into Marsalek's Moscow life (2025). Old Bailey spy-ring convictions (March 2025): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3... BDO / BPI / BSP statements (June 2020): https://business.inquirer.net/300345/... https://www.philstar.com/business/202... Wirecard AG ad-hoc disclosure, June 22, 2020: https://www.wirecard.com/2020/06/22/w... KPMG special investigation report (April 2020): https://www.wirecard.com/uploads/Beri... BaFin General Administrative Act (February 2019): https://www.bafin.de/SharedDocs/Veroe... BKA wanted notice for Jan Marsalek: https://www.bka.de/DE/IhreSicherheit/... The New Yorker, "How the Biggest Fraud in German History Unravelled" (2023). Braun denies wrongdoing and says he was deceived; his Munich trial verdict is expected in 2026. Marsalek has not responded publicly to the allegations. A Silicon Canals film.