A Bulgarian intelligence operative at the center of a Russian spy ring in the UK allegedly helped Jan Marsalek, the fugitive former Wirecard executive, organize an emergency evacuation from Kabul for the CIA during the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The claim, made during a sentencing hearing at London’s Old Bailey on Thursday, was promptly dismissed by prosecutors.
Lawyers for Orlin Roussev, described as the ringleader of a UK-based espionage network, argued that their client should be credited for facilitating a humanitarian airlift that reportedly saved over 200 lives. According to defense counsel Mark Summers KC, Roussev arranged for Bulgarian pilots to evacuate American contractors from Kabul at Marsalek’s request, allegedly on behalf of the CIA and U.S. defense contractor Constellis, formerly known as Blackwater.
Citing Telegram messages between Roussev and Marsalek, Summers read out one message dated August 17, 2021, in which Marsalek referred to an “interesting request from our (sort of) friends at the CIA,” urgently seeking aircraft to fly personnel out of Kabul as Taliban forces closed in. “Do you know anyone who is a bit rogue and operates large-scale airplanes?” Marsalek asked Roussev, who allegedly answered the call by sourcing Bulgarian pilots to conduct the operation on August 26.
At the time, NATO forces were scrambling to evacuate more than 120,000 troops and civilians from the Afghan capital. Marsalek, by then living in Russia after absconding from Germany following the €1.9 billion Wirecard fraud scandal, is believed to have been working with both Russia’s FSB and GRU intelligence agencies.
Despite the dramatic claims, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC rejected the defense’s portrayal of Roussev as a reluctant humanitarian. “What Mr. Roussev did was to see if they could profit from the terrible situation emerging out of Kabul,” she argued, denying that there was any formal CIA directive and suggesting the arrangement with Constellis was financially motivated. She also noted that there is no corroborating evidence the airlift actually took place.
All six members of the alleged spy ring — Roussev, Biser Dzhambazov, Ivan Stoyanov, Katrin Ivanova, Vanya Gaberova, and Tihomir Ivanchev — have either pleaded guilty or been convicted of espionage-related offenses and are due to be sentenced on Monday.
The revelations have deepened intrigue around Marsalek, who once served as COO of the now-collapsed German payments firm Wirecard. As Financial Times has extensively reported, Marsalek fled in 2020 and has since been linked to various global espionage and arms dealings. Evidence presented in court, including seized Telegram messages, suggests he and Roussev also collaborated on ventures involving surveillance of Russian dissidents, African diamond trafficking, and a proposed weapons-tech partnership between Chinese drone maker Autel and Russia’s Rostec.
In one 2022 message, Marsalek joked about undergoing cosmetic surgery to alter his appearance, writing, “In my new role as an international fugitive, I must outperform James Bond.”
Both the CIA and Constellis declined to comment on the alleged Kabul operation. The case underscores the increasingly blurred lines between state espionage, private military contracts, and international fugitives like Marsalek operating in the shadows of global intelligence.
