In this special bonus episode from The Financial Times, "The Broker" tells the story of how a failed baseball hopeful and disgraced stockbroker reinvented himself as one of America’s most consequential modern arms dealers.

From a family-run warehouse in Virginia Beach, Will Somerindyke built his company into a crucial conduit in the Pentagon’s covert supply chains — sourcing Soviet-era weapons for wars in Syria and Yemen before emerging as a central player in Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

As artillery shells became the most sought-after commodity of the war, he placed a multimillion-dollar bet on reviving crumbling Cold War factories in the Balkans, transforming himself from middleman to manufacturer.

Based on months of reporting, The Broker traces Somerindyke’s rise through the shadow world of privatized warfare — where geopolitics, profit and personal ambition collide — and reveals how modern conflicts are sustained not only by soldiers on the front lines, but by entrepreneurs who move the weapons behind the scenes.

This piece, written by the FT’s Miles Johnson, host of Hot Money Season 2: The New Narcos, was originally printed in FT Weekend.

In this special bonus episode from The Financial Times, "The Broker" tells the story of how a failed baseball hopeful and disgraced stockbroker reinvented himself as one of America&rsquo;s most consequential modern arms dealers.
From a family-run warehouse in Virginia Beach, Will Somerindyke built his company into a crucial conduit in the Pentagon&rsquo;s covert supply chains &mdash; sourcing Soviet-era weapons for wars in Syria and Yemen before emerging as a central player in Ukraine&rsquo;s fight against Russia.
As artillery shells became the most sought-after commodity of the war, he placed a multimillion-dollar bet on reviving crumbling Cold War factories in the Balkans, transforming himself from middleman to manufacturer.
Based on months of reporting, The Broker traces Somerindyke&rsquo;s rise through the shadow world of privatized warfare &mdash; where geopolitics, profit and personal ambition collide &mdash; and reveals how modern conflicts are sustained not only by soldiers on the front lines, but by entrepreneurs who move the weapons behind the scenes.
This piece, written by&nbsp;the&nbsp;FT&rsquo;s Miles Johnson, host of Hot Money Season 2: The New Narcos, was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d7f95899-d634-43c9-adac-da8da67f3cdb">originally printed</a>&nbsp;in FT Weekend.

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

From The Financial Times: The Broker

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/97ae9962-fbb3-421e-9127-b3f400fba0e2/transcript