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?
Last refreshed: ⓘ
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
Drilled is a true-crime climate change podcast exposing how corporate corruption and political operatives built decades of climate denial and delay. Hosted and reported by award-winning investigative climate journalists, led by Amy Westervelt, each season unravels new evidence of deception, disinformation, and the power structures keeping real climate solutions out of reach. In September 2025, a group of Brazilian ministers trekked all the way to chilly North Dakota to see a presentation on a ne...
In this special bonus episode from The Financial Times, "The Broker" tells the story of how a failed baseball hopeful and disgraced stockbroker reinvented himself as one of America’s most consequential modern arms dealers. From a family-run warehouse in Virginia Beach, Will Somerindyke built his company into a crucial conduit in the Pentagon’s covert supply chains — sourcing Soviet-era weapons for wars in Syria and Yemen before emerging as a central player in Ukraine’s fight against Russia. As a...
In our season finale, Sam discovers a different narrative about Marsalek’s life in Russia. And a tip from long ago resurfaces. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Marsalek-backed ring of operatives goes on trial in the UK for espionage. A treasure trove of text messages reveals their inner workings. 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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
Back in Vienna, Sam investigates another Marsalek plot. One that nearly toppled Austria’s intelligence agency. 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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
How does one become a spy? Sam speaks with a former Russian intelligence officer about how Marsalek might have been recruited. And to what ends. 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 See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...
On the ground in Austria and Germany, Sam digs deep into Marsalek’s past. His odd habits. His strange house. The hypnotic effect he had on former colleagues. And how he is remembered by childhood friends. CORRECTION: In this episode, we reported Marsalek left home just before taking his final school exams at age 17. We’ve since learned he was 18 when he left home. Get ad-free access to the entire season of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm . Acc...
Sam tracks down an old contact in Tunisia. A former UN official living off grid. He reveals how he ended up involved in one of Jan Marsalek’s wildest schemes. CORRECTION: In this episode, we reported that Marsalek told Killian Kleinschmidt that he arrived in Syria in a Mig 8. That was an error. Killian only recalls Marsalek saying that he arrived in Syria in a helicopter, not specifically a Mig 8. Get ad-free access to the entire season of Hot Money: Agent of Chaos by subscribing to Pushkin+ on ...
As Sam arrives in Vienna, a political bomb explodes. A secretly recorded video exposes ties between the far right and Russia, plunging the Austrian government into crisis and revealing a world where people like Jan Marsalek can thrive. 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:...
A series of clandestine lunch meetings leads Sam’s editor to send him off to Vienna, in search of one man. 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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
When reporter Sam Jones asks questions about disgraced financial executive Jan Marsalek, he discovers a world of warlords, espionage, and disinformation. Coming June 10 from Pushkin Industries and The Financial Times 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 S...
Law enforcement cuts off the Kinahan cartel, and a little red notebook in the back of a car might finally reveal who killed the electrician in Almere. For more from the FT, sign up for the FT Edit App . To listen to Hot Money ad free, subscribe to Pushkin+ . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Daniel Kinahan is more influential than ever, but law enforcement may finally be catching up. For more from the FT, sign up for the FT Edit App . To listen to Hot Money ad free, subscribe to Pushkin+ . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This episode follows DEA agents Angel and John Post, recounting an undercover sting operation targeting professional money launderer Iman Cabayzi. What began as a drug money laundering case took an unexpected turn when Cabayzi sought assistance sourcing military-grade weapons for her client, revealed to be the Iranian government. Post-arrest investigation uncovered Cabayzi's significant link to a high-level Hezbollah and Iranian official, Abdullah Safi al-Din, highlighting Iran's sophisticated methods for circumventing sanctions and its potential ties to European organized crime networks like the Kinahans.
Dutch police achieve a major breakthrough by cracking the encrypted phones used by organized crime, uncovering the vast scale of their operations and shocking evidence of contract killings ordered with ease. Meanwhile, a journalist faces death threats for reporting on the growing power of the Dutch underworld, and a local councillor campaigns tirelessly to force the government to acknowledge the Iranian regime's suspected role in a murder connected to the super cartel. The episode reveals the high stakes and interconnectedness of global organized crime and state-sponsored violence.
Europe's top drug traffickers, including Daniel Kinahan and the 'Van Gogh Boss' Raffaele Imperiale, find a new safe haven in Dubai. The episode explores Dubai's unique environment that attracts global elites and criminals alike, enabling illicit finance and offering perceived safety. These crime bosses form a powerful 'Super Cartel' controlling vast amounts of the European cocaine market, while Kinahan seeks to legitimize himself in the boxing world. The episode contrasts Kinahan's lavish life in Dubai, highlighted by his high-profile wedding, with the violence orchestrated back in Dublin, and details how intelligence gathered at the wedding prompts law enforcement to shift their focus.
The episode details the 2010 multi-country police operation, 'Operation Shovel,' targeting Christy Kinahan's expanding cocaine and money laundering empire based in Spain. Despite the large-scale raids and arrests, the case against Kinahan collapses, highlighting the challenges of prosecuting high-level organized crime. Journalist Nicola Tallent recounts her experience reporting on the Kinahans' surprising resilience and their show of power in Spain. The focus shifts to Daniel Kinahan's rise, his efforts to build a public persona through boxing, and the violent consequences that follow when the cartel's power is challenged in Dublin, ultimately leading them to seek a new base.
This episode traces the rise of Christy Kinahan, from a Dublin fraudster dealing heroin to a global criminal entrepreneur. It explores early policing efforts in Dublin's heroin crisis, Kinahan's strategic move to Amsterdam, and how European economic changes made it a prime market for South American cartels. The episode connects Kinahan's expanding network to unexpected crimes, including a potential state-sponsored assassination, highlighting his transformation into a powerful crime boss.
When a Dutch crime reporter makes an unbelievable discovery, a small-town murder case begins to look like an international assassination plot. For more from the FT, sign up for the FT Edit App . To listen to Hot Money ad free, subscribe to Pushkin+ . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hot Money is back with a new season that begins with a mysterious murder in a small town and leads to a cocaine super cartel and a secret proxy war between democracies and dictatorships. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the season finale, Alex and Patricia discover how Visa and MasterCard became the reluctant rulers of porn. And they figure out what being ruled by credit card companies means for the porn industry today. If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to subscribe to our email list . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Alex and Patricia track down the family behind OnlyFans, the site that has transformed online porn by shifting power back to performers. But there is a whole other side to the OnlyFans story. If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
One of the biggest porn companies in the world was forced to radically change its practices. But another porn giant changed almost nothing. Patricia travels to the company's Prague headquarters to understand why. If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
A billionaire hedge fund manager reads a scathing column about a popular porn site. He sends an angry text to the CEO of MasterCard. Almost overnight, the biggest porn company in the world changes dramatically. If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
How is it legal for porn sites to host millions of videos uploaded by users? The answer is in the story of an Ohio family in the early 1990s. In this episode: a family IT business, an FBI raid and a court case that set the precedent for porn – and for tech giants like Facebook and Twitter. If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
When Fabian Thylmann ran into trouble with the law, a former Goldman Sachs banker swooped in to buy his porn sites. But nobody knew who he was. He managed to keep his identity a secret for years --- until Patricia rumbled his game. If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
A decade ago, a computer programmer named Fabian Thylmann began to build one of the biggest porn empires in the world. How did Fabian do it? He was good with money in a business that was starved of finance. He convinced Wall Street to bankroll his vision to take control of the industry. If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Stoya is a porn star who saw first-hand how a firehose of free porn online transformed the adult industry. She sends hosts Alex Barker and Patricia Nilsson a quest: Find out who is in charge, and get to the bottom of how the business of porn really works. If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
When Financial Times reporter Patricia Nilsson started digging into the porn industry, she made a shocking discovery: Nobody knew who controlled the biggest porn company in the world. Now, Nilsson and her editor, Alex Barker, have figured out who the guy was, and much more. Their reporting reveals a shadowy power structure that includes billionaires, tech geniuses and the most powerful finance companies in the world. Coming June 7th. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
