On the ground in Austria and Germany, Sam digs deep into Marsalek’s past. His odd habits. His strange house. The hypnotic effect he had on former colleagues. And how he is remembered by childhood friends.

CORRECTION: In this episode, we reported Marsalek left home just before taking his final school exams at age 17. We’ve since learned he was 18 when he left home.

Get ad-free access to the entire season of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Access ad-free episodes, exclusive binges, full audiobooks, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows with Pushkin+.

Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin
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On the ground in Austria and Germany, Sam digs deep into Marsalek&rsquo;s past. His odd habits. His strange house. The hypnotic effect he had on former colleagues. And how he is remembered by childhood friends.
CORRECTION: In this episode, we reported Marsalek left home just before taking his final school exams at age 17. We&rsquo;ve since learned he was 18 when he left home.
<hr>
Get ad-free access to the entire season of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or <a href="http://pushkin.fm/" data-stringify-link="http://Pushkin.fm" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Pushkin.fm</a>. Access ad-free episodes, exclusive binges, full audiobooks, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows with Pushkin+.
Subscribe on Apple:&nbsp;<a href="http://apple.co/pushkin" data-stringify-link="http://apple.co/pushkin" data-sk="tooltip_parent">apple.co/pushkin</a> Subscribe on Pushkin:&nbsp;<a href="http://pushkin.fm/plus" data-stringify-link="http://pushkin.fm/plus" data-sk="tooltip_parent">pushkin.fm/plus</a>

In 2020, the Financial Times exposed a €2 billion fraud at Wirecard, a high-flying German fintech. Many thought that was the end of the story. But for reporter Sam Jones, it was just the beginning.

This season on Hot Money: Agent of Chaos, Jones investigates Wirecard’s chief operating officer, who vanished just as Wirecard collapsed. And turned out to also be a Russian spy.

From an Ibizan sting operation to an attempted takeover of the Austrian intelligence service, his reporting spirals into a world of warlords, espionage, and disinformation.

All in an attempt to answer one question: Who is the real Jan Marsalek? And what does his secret life reveal about the powerful forces he serves?

In 2020, the Financial Times exposed a &euro;2 billion fraud at Wirecard, a high-flying German fintech. Many thought that was the end of the story. But for reporter Sam Jones, it was just the beginning.
This season on Hot Money: Agent of Chaos, Jones investigates Wirecard&rsquo;s chief operating officer, who vanished just as Wirecard collapsed. And turned out to also be a Russian spy.
From an Ibizan sting operation to an attempted takeover of the Austrian intelligence service, his reporting spirals into a world of warlords, espionage, and disinformation.
All in an attempt to answer one question: Who is the real Jan Marsalek? And what does his secret life reveal about the powerful forces he serves?

Hot Money: Agent of Chaos

Episode 4: Backbearings 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/0e8cc5c9-c885-409b-ad87-b3050143274d/transcript