Secret British intelligence files have revealed that MI5 once suspected the German-born founder of the iconic Rolex luxury watch empire of holding strong Nazi sympathies and possibly acting as a spy during the Second World War.

The declassified records, held at the National Archives, describe Hans Wilsdorf as “most objectionable” and allege he may have used his position to spread propaganda for Adolf Hitler’s regime, according to The Telegraph.

The documents, written between 1941 and 1943 and many stamped with “Box 500” — a wartime nickname for MI5’s headquarters — outline fears among British authorities that Wilsdorf posed a security risk despite being a naturalized British citizen. 5

Born in Bavaria in 1881, Wilsdorf moved to London in 1903, where he began making watches in Hatt

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