Austrian Ex-Official Arrested for Alleged Spying on Austria's Interior Ministry for Russia
An Austrian ex-security official, Egisto Ott, was arrested in March 2023 for suspected espionage on behalf of Russia.
The allegations include Ott passing information to Jan Marsalek, a fugitive Austrian-German executive of collapsed payments firm Wirecard, who is wanted for fraud and is currently in Moscow.
The police warrant, obtained by Austrian and German media, details the 86-page investigation.
This is considered Austria's biggest espionage scandal in decades.
A report by European newspapers claims that Austrian businessman Egisto Ott was recruited by Russian agents in 2014 and allegedly passed sensitive information to Russia from 2017 onwards.
The Austrian police warrant accuses Ott of commissioning another Austrian security officer to help with the transfers.
Ott denies any wrongdoing and is currently in custody.
He was suspended in 2017 and detained in 2021 after new evidence was provided by British intelligence.
The suspect is alleged to have obtained phones belonging to senior Austrian interior ministry officials, which contained the data passed to Russia, after they fell into the Danube during a boating trip.
A man is accused of stealing information from two individuals and sharing it with Jan Marsalek and Moscow.
The information allegedly included their contents, which were related to Russian intelligence activities.
One of the individuals is Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev, known for investigating Russian intelligence activities including the 2022 poisoning of opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
Grozev has since left Vienna due to security concerns after obtaining his address under false pretenses.
The police warrant, obtained by Austrian and German media, details the 86-page investigation.
This is considered Austria's biggest espionage scandal in decades.
A report by European newspapers claims that Austrian businessman Egisto Ott was recruited by Russian agents in 2014 and allegedly passed sensitive information to Russia from 2017 onwards.
The Austrian police warrant accuses Ott of commissioning another Austrian security officer to help with the transfers.
Ott denies any wrongdoing and is currently in custody.
He was suspended in 2017 and detained in 2021 after new evidence was provided by British intelligence.
The suspect is alleged to have obtained phones belonging to senior Austrian interior ministry officials, which contained the data passed to Russia, after they fell into the Danube during a boating trip.
A man is accused of stealing information from two individuals and sharing it with Jan Marsalek and Moscow.
The information allegedly included their contents, which were related to Russian intelligence activities.
One of the individuals is Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev, known for investigating Russian intelligence activities including the 2022 poisoning of opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
Grozev has since left Vienna due to security concerns after obtaining his address under false pretenses.
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