Former intelligence official Egisto Ott has been found guilty of spying for Russia, in what has been dubbed Austria's biggest spy trial in years. A jury in Vienna found Ott, 63, guilty of having handed over information to Russian intelligence officers and to Jan Marsalek, the fugitive executive of collapsed German payments firm Wirecard.
Ott, who denies the charges, was sentenced to four years and one month in prison. His lawyer has appealed against the verdict. The spy scandal has revived fears that Austria remains a hotbed of Russian espionage activity.
In addition to spying, Ott was found guilty of misuse of office, bribery, aggravated fraud, and breach of trust. The court heard how he had supported 'a secret intelligence service of the Russian Federation to the detriment of the Republic of Austria' by collecting secret facts and a large amount of personal data from police databases from 2015 to 2020.
Prosecutors said Ott gave this information to Marsalek and unknown representatives of the Russian intelligence service, receiving payment in return. Marsalek, who is also an Austrian citizen, is wanted by German police for alleged fraud and is currently believed to be in Moscow, having fled via Austria in 2020.
Prosecutors told the court that Marsalek commissioned Ott to obtain a laptop containing secret electronic security hardware used by EU states for secure electronic communication. This laptop was handed over to the Russian intelligence service.
Ott was also found guilty of passing phone data from senior Austrian interior ministry officials to Russia. He had obtained the work phones after they accidentally fell into the Danube River on a ministry boating trip, copying their contents to pass them on to Marsalek and Moscow.
The prosecution argued that Ott was 'not romantic about Russia' but acted out of financial motives and frustration with work. When Ott was arrested in 2024, Austria's then-Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, described the case as 'a threat to democracy and our country's national security.'
Ott, who denies the charges, was sentenced to four years and one month in prison. His lawyer has appealed against the verdict. The spy scandal has revived fears that Austria remains a hotbed of Russian espionage activity.
In addition to spying, Ott was found guilty of misuse of office, bribery, aggravated fraud, and breach of trust. The court heard how he had supported 'a secret intelligence service of the Russian Federation to the detriment of the Republic of Austria' by collecting secret facts and a large amount of personal data from police databases from 2015 to 2020.
Prosecutors said Ott gave this information to Marsalek and unknown representatives of the Russian intelligence service, receiving payment in return. Marsalek, who is also an Austrian citizen, is wanted by German police for alleged fraud and is currently believed to be in Moscow, having fled via Austria in 2020.
Prosecutors told the court that Marsalek commissioned Ott to obtain a laptop containing secret electronic security hardware used by EU states for secure electronic communication. This laptop was handed over to the Russian intelligence service.
Ott was also found guilty of passing phone data from senior Austrian interior ministry officials to Russia. He had obtained the work phones after they accidentally fell into the Danube River on a ministry boating trip, copying their contents to pass them on to Marsalek and Moscow.
The prosecution argued that Ott was 'not romantic about Russia' but acted out of financial motives and frustration with work. When Ott was arrested in 2024, Austria's then-Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, described the case as 'a threat to democracy and our country's national security.'
