Telegram founder Pavel Durov held direct contacts with fugitive Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek — FT
Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, personally communicated in 2018 with Jan Marsalek, the former chief operating officer of Wirecard who is now wanted across Europe for large-scale financial fraud and, according to investigators, is linked to Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU), the Financial Times reports.
According to the FT, after meeting Durov, Marsalek sought to bring investors connected to Libya into Telegram’s blockchain project TON. Among them was Libyan financier Ahmed Ben Halim. The plan involved setting up a dedicated investment structure, but Credit Suisse blocked the transaction, citing risks associated with Libyan counterparties.
To bypass banking controls, Marsalek allegedly pooled funds from Ben Halim and other partners and invested them into TON in his own name. After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) halted Telegram’s token launch, Marsalek returned the money to the investors, the FT reports.
Marsalek is not only a central figure in the Wirecard scandal, one of Europe’s biggest corporate fraud cases, but has also been identified by investigators as a coordinator of a Russian espionage network whose members were later convicted in the United Kingdom. Ahmed Ben Halim is a Libyan financier, the son of a former Libyan prime minister, and a co-investor in several cement-sector projects in Libya.
Marsalek’s involvement in TON had been reported previously, but details of his role and his direct contact with Durov were not publicly known. Journalists have also reported that Russian oligarchs and companies linked to resource-export schemes from occupied Ukrainian territories appeared among TON investors.
Durov has repeatedly stated publicly that all Telegram investors underwent strict due diligence, a claim now raising fresh questions in light of the FT’s reporting.
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