We're Equinor, an energy company searching for better. Currently, we supply 27% of the UK's gas,

15% of its oil, and we're playing our part in the UK's energy transition. In 2023, we invested

20% of our global gross spend in renewables and lower carbon solutions. Today, our wind farms power

750,000 homes, and we expect this to grow to

over 7 million UK households. We're an energy company searching for better. Equinor.com.

UK.

Hi, briefing listeners, it's Mark. Today, we're bringing you the first episode of a new season of

Hot Money, the award-winning podcast series

from the Financial Times, and Pushkin Industries. This season on Hot Money, Agent of Chaos,

reporter Sam Jones investigates Wirecard's chief operating officer who just vanished as the

high-flying German fintech collapsed. Turns out, he was a Russian spy. Jones's reporting spirals into a

world of warlords, espionage, and disinformation, from a sting operation to an attempted takeover

of the Austrian intelligence service. His reporting tries to answer two questions,

who is the real Jan Marselech, and what does his secret life reveal about the

powerful forces he serves? You can subscribe and listen to Hot Money Agent of Chaos wherever you get

your podcasts. It's a winter's day in 2018. Paul Murphy is standing in front of the mirror of the

gents lavatory at work. He's changing for lunch. I kind of stopped wearing ties, but I

think I put a tie on for that occasion. Paul is in his mid-50s. He's got a slightly

grizzled look about him. You wouldn't pick him out in a crowd, but that's an advantage

in his line of work. In his hands, Paul is holding a small silver disc about the size of a penny.

He takes his shirt off, grabs a piece of medical tape, and fixes this disc onto his shoulder,

because this disc is a tiny microphone.

...