Wirecard's Sacked COO Jan Marsalek Is Reportedly in the Philippines

Jan Marsalek, the recently sacked COO of Wirecard, is reportedly in the Philippines, according to German paper Suddeutsche Zeitung (SZ).

More: The Wirecard Scandal: How $2 Billion 'Disappeared' in the Philippines

“He is said to be in the Philippine capital of Manila, but is not supposed to be on the run. Friends of Marsalek say that he wants to get documents that could help clarify the case,” reported the news outlet. (This quote was translated from German to English).

However, SZ did not clarify how Marsalek managed to fly to the Philippines as international airports are no longer accepting inbound commercial flights due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COO and acting CEO Marsalek was fired by Wirecard on Monday, as announced by the German company in the following statement: “The Supervisory Board of Wirecard AG today dismissed with immediate effect the member of the Management Board Jan Marsalek, who had been suspended on a revocable basis on June 18, 2020, until June 30, and extraordinarily terminated his employment contract.”

More: Who Is Attorney Mark Tolentino, the Filipino Tagged in the Billion-Dollar Wirecard Scandal?

Marsalek’s colleague, former CEO Markus Braun, was arrested on Monday and released on €5 million ($5.7 million) bail for his suspected involvement in the missing $2.1 billion from Wirecard’s accounts. The company has since denied the existence of the missing money. An ex-billionaire, Braun is now facing accusations that he inflated Wirecard’s balance sheet and presented false information to make the company look more appealing to investors and to increase his net worth.

Wirecard is now headed by James H. Freis, Jr., an American.