Major Spy Trial Unfolds in Austria: Ex-Intelligence Officer Accused of Espionage

Tue Feb 03 2026 21:13:10 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Egisto Ott stands trial in Vienna, accused of spying for Russia and sharing sensitive information. The case highlights growing concerns over Russian espionage activities in Austria.

Egisto Ott, a former Austrian intelligence officer, is on trial for allegedly passing confidential information to Russian intelligence factions, including fugitive Jan Marsalek. Prosecutors have laid out charges involving abuse of authority and unauthorized data collection, raising alarms about espionage activities in Austria. The ongoing trial is part of mounting scrutiny of Russian influence in the region.

Former intelligence official Egisto Ott goes on trial in Vienna on Thursday, accused of spying for Russia in what is being dubbed Austria's biggest spy trial in years.

Egisto Ott, 63, is charged with having handed over information to Russian intelligence officers and to Jan Marsalek, the fugitive executive of collapsed German payments firm Wirecard.

Ott denies the charges.

Jan 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.

The subject of an Interpol Red Notice, he is alleged to be an intelligence asset for the FSB, Russia's secretive security service.

The spy scandal has revived fears that Austria remains a hotbed of Russian espionage activity and observers will also be watching closely for details that could emerge about Marsalek.

Prosecutors in Vienna say Egisto Ott abused his authority as an Austrian intelligence official by collecting large amounts of personal data, such as locations, vehicle registration numbers, or travel movements.

They say he did this between 2015 and 2020 without authorization, often using national and international police databases.

Prosecutors also charge him with supporting 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 between 2017 and 2021.

They say Egisto Ott gave this information to Jan Marsalek and unknown representatives of the Russian intelligence service, and received payment in return.

In 2022, prosecutors claim, Jan Marsalek commissioned him to obtain a laptop containing secret electronic security hardware used by EU states for secure electronic communication. The laptop, they allege, was handed over to the Russian intelligence service.

He is also suspected of having passed phone data from senior Austrian interior ministry officials to Russia.

Austria's Standard newspaper says Egisto Ott apparently obtained the work phones after they accidentally fell into the River Danube on an interior ministry boating trip.

He is alleged to have copied their contents and passed them on to Jan Marsalek, and Moscow.

Egisto Ott is charged with abuse of authority and corruption in espionage against Austria, facing up to five years in prison if found guilty.

When he was arrested in 2024, Austria's then Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, described the case as a threat to democracy and our country's national security.

In a separate development, prosecutors in the Austrian town of Wiener Neustadt have charged former MP Thomas Schellenbacher with helping Marsalek escape following the collapse of Wirecard, after €1.9bn went missing from its accounts in 2020.

Schellenbacher is alleged to have facilitated Marsalek's flight to Belarus. The FPÖ and its leader Herbert Kickl have denied allegations of enabling Russian espionage.

Messages from a trial reveal Marsalek, who underwent cosmetic surgery to alter his appearance while living as a fugitive, has expressed the need to refine his skills for evading authorities, indicating he is keenly aware of his precarious situation.