Austrian ex-intelligence officer found guilty of spying for Russia

A Vienna jury found Egisto Ott, a former Austrian intelligence official, guilty of spying for Russia in what prosecutors described as the country’s biggest spy trial in years.

The jury convicted Ott, 63, of passing information to Russian intelligence officers and to Jan Marsalek, the fugitive former executive of collapsed German payments firm Wirecard.

Ott, who denies all charges, received a sentence of four years and one month in prison. His lawyer has appealed the verdict.

The case revived concerns that Austria remains a hub for Russian espionage activities.

In addition to espionage, the court found Ott guilty of abuse of office, bribery, aggravated fraud and breach of trust.

The court heard that Ott supported “a secret intelligence service of the Russian Federation to the detriment of the Republic of Austria” by collecting classified information and large amounts of personal data from police databases between 2015 and 2020.

Prosecutors said Ott provided that information to Marsalek and unidentified representatives of Russian intelligence in exchange for payment.

Marsalek, also an Austrian citizen, is wanted by German authorities for alleged fraud and is believed to be in Moscow after fleeing via Austria in 2020.

Alleged to be a Russian intelligence asset, Marsalek is subject to an Interpol Red Notice, meaning authorities could arrest him in any of the 196 member countries.

Prosecutors told the court that Marsalek commissioned Ott to obtain a laptop containing secret electronic security hardware used by EU states for secure communications. The laptop, they said, ended up in the hands of Russian intelligence.

Ott also passed phone data from senior Austrian interior ministry officials to Russia. He obtained the work phones after they fell into the River Danube during a ministry boating trip.

The court heard how Ott copied the phone contents and passed them to Marsalek and Moscow.

The prosecution told the court that Ott was “not romantic about Russia” but acted out of financial motives and frustration with his job.

Ott denied the allegations, saying he did not work for Moscow but conducted a covert operation in cooperation with a Western intelligence service.

The case shed light on more of Marsalek’s alleged activities. He has since faced charges of fraud and embezzlement, accused of inflating Wirecard’s balance sheet and sales figures.

Marsalek also allegedly controlled a group of Bulgarians convicted in London in 2025 of spying for Russia.

When Ott was arrested in 2024, Austria’s then-Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, called the case “a threat to democracy and our country’s national security.”