Austria prosecutors charge ex-intelligence official with spying for Russia
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Former domestic intelligence official Egisto Ott passed on secret information to Moscow for years, say prosecutors..
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Austrian prosecutors charged ex-intelligence official Egisto Ott with espionage, abuse of office, and corruption for allegedly spying for Russia.
- Ott is accused of collecting secret information between 2017-2021, passing it to Russian intelligence in exchange for financial compensation.
- Ott allegedly gave a laptop with secure communication hardware to Russian intelligence via an accomplice for €20,000 in 2022.
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VIENNA - Austrian prosecutors said on Aug 29 they have filed charges against an ex-intelligence official suspected of spying for Russia, accusing him of passing on secret information for years.
The charges are the latest in an extensive case that broke in 2024, centring on former agent Egisto Ott.
Ott, 63, was acquitted in March of violating official secrecy for allegedly passing information to a far-right politician.
But he is now facing fresh charges, including of suspected abuse of office, corruption and espionage against Austria, prosecutors said in a statement.
Ott is accused of “collecting secret information and a large amount of personal data from police databases between 2017 and 2021” in exchange for “financial compensation”, according to prosecutors.
The purpose was to transmit them to a Russian intelligence service and alleged Russian agent Jan Marsalek,
Ott also allegedly handed over a laptop in November 2022 to an accomplice on behalf of Marsalek in exchange for €20,000.
The laptop, which was given to a Russian intelligence service, contained “an electronic security hardware for secure electronic communication not publicly known to, or used by, EU states,” according to prosecutors.
In 2019, Ott also allegedly “disclosed confidential information... namely personal data” of Austrian intelligence agency officials to a then-official in Austria’s foreign ministry.
Ott, who in 2024 denied all allegations of wrongdoing to AFP, faces up to five years in prison if found guilty.
Austria had in the past seen itself as a bridge between Moscow and West, but in recent years the EU member country has been rocked by several cases centred on suspected spying for Russia. AFP
