Episode 8: Matryoshka | Hot Money: Agent of Chaos podcast

Description

In our season finale, Sam discovers a different narrative about Marsalek’s life in Russia. And a tip from long ago resurfaces. 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 Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus #podcast #truecrime #hotmoney #financialtimes #investigativejournalism #investigativereporting #financialcrime #fintech #germany #wirecard ABOUT HOT MONEY 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? ABOUT SAM JONES Sam Jones is the FT’s European security correspondent, covering intelligence and espionage, influence operations, cyber security, illicit finance and political extremism across the continent. Sam joined the FT in 2007, and has worked in a variety of roles including FT investigations and postings as a foreign correspondent in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Between 2013 and 2017 he was the FT’s defence and security editor (during which he covered the rise of Isis and Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine). Sam has won several journalism awards in the US and UK, most recently for his work on the Wirecard scandal and exposing Jan Marsalek as a Russian spy. ABOUT PUSHKIN INDUSTRIES Pushkin Industries is an audio producti