Fugitive former businessman Jan Marsalek was allegedly behind a scheme to deploy 15,000 mercenaries to control the vital migration route through Libya – and influence elections across Europe
A Russian spymaster’s shocking plan to control migration into Europe with the help of private armies has been revealed.
Fugitive former businessman Jan Marsalek was allegedly behind a scheme to deploy 15,000 mercenaries to control the vital migration route through Libya. Weaponising the flow of migrants is said to be a key aim of Vladimir Putin – with the topic being a major consideration for those voting in elections across Europe. European leaders previously warned there could be an influx of migrants to the West if Ukraine falls to Russia.
Marsalek’s alleged plot was made public for the first time after three UK-based Bulgarian nationals working under his instructions were found guilty of spying for Russia on Friday. Leader Orlin Roussev, 47, was busted along his team of spies in what the Met Police called one of the UK’s biggest-ever spying operations. The group now face jail after being caught plotting to kidnap and carry out surveillance campaigns.
Marsalek, who has been on the run since 2020 after the collapse of his tech company Wirecard, is alleged to have purchased the Russian private military company RSB Group, which has close ties to Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar, The Telegraph reports.
He was found to be working for the Kremlin during the time in which he ran Wirecard – and was planning to control flows of migration from Africa with backing from Austria. The plot was reportedly launched in 2017, with Marsalek securing over €120,000 in Austrian government backing for the move – which he told the EU would help “solve the migration crisis”.
Security for the plot was being looked after by a suspected colonel in Russia’s military intelligence service, known as the GRU. Sources claim that despite warning officials in Germany and Austria about his involvement and links to Russia, they were ignored.
Marsalek’s interest in private armies started during his time at Wirecard. In 2017 and early 2018, he met with Killian Kleinschmidt, a former UN worker and humanitarian, to discuss a project in Libya. They were also joined by Gustav Gustenau, a senior official in Austria’s Ministry of Defence at the time.
According to The Telegraph, documents reveal Gustenau signed a statement promising €20,000 for the project, which aimed to help manage migration and stabilise Libya. Kleinschmidt was also promised another €100,000 for the project through Austria’s Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation, and Technology. It is believed these payments were never made.
Gustenau has denied any wrongdoing or close ties with Marsalek, saying he was simply authorised to explore the project and had no knowledge of Marsalek’s links to Russia. The payments were supposed to come from a group called the “Russian-Libyan Cultural Institute,” which Marsalek claimed was based in Moscow – but no record of such an institute exists.
Minutes from one of Marsalek’s meetings explained: “The priority for JM is ‘to close the border’ preferably via an ‘15,000 man-strong border police force’ that would be composed of former militias. He repeated this throughout the conversation. This could also be used in his opinion with the national government in Tripoli as leverage against the power brokers in the east. Closing the border can be sold to the EU as ‘solving the migration crisis’ and the frozen Libyan funds in the EU can be used for this purpose.”
The project is said to have been abandoned in 2018 due to concerns from partners and lack of funding. But the presence of Russian mercenaries in Libya, along with the Wagner Group’s influence across Africa, has only added to the growing fears of a migrant crisis in Europe. Experts believe the Russian-backed groups are actively increasing instability in African nations, pushing more migrants towards European borders.
Marsalek is still on Interpol’s most-wanted list, and is also under investigation for espionage in several European countries.
