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, and received 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.
Alleged to be a Russian intelligence asset, Marsalek is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice and could be arrested if found in any of the 196-member countries of the organization.
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. The laptop, they say, was handed over to the Russian intelligence service.
Ott was also found guilty of having passed phone data from senior Austrian interior ministry officials to Russia. He obtained the work phones after they accidentally fell into the River Danube on a ministry boating trip and copied their contents before passing them to Marsalek and Moscow.
The prosecution asserted that Ott was 'not romantic about Russia' but acted out of financial motives and frustration with his job. Ott denied the accusations, claiming he had not worked for Moscow and was running a covert operation with a Western intelligence service.
The case has shed light on the activities of Marsalek, who has been charged with fraud and embezzlement in relation to the Wirecard scandal. He is also believed to have overseen a group of Bulgarians convicted of spying for Russia in London in 2025.
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, and received 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.
Alleged to be a Russian intelligence asset, Marsalek is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice and could be arrested if found in any of the 196-member countries of the organization.
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. The laptop, they say, was handed over to the Russian intelligence service.
Ott was also found guilty of having passed phone data from senior Austrian interior ministry officials to Russia. He obtained the work phones after they accidentally fell into the River Danube on a ministry boating trip and copied their contents before passing them to Marsalek and Moscow.
The prosecution asserted that Ott was 'not romantic about Russia' but acted out of financial motives and frustration with his job. Ott denied the accusations, claiming he had not worked for Moscow and was running a covert operation with a Western intelligence service.
The case has shed light on the activities of Marsalek, who has been charged with fraud and embezzlement in relation to the Wirecard scandal. He is also believed to have overseen a group of Bulgarians convicted of spying for Russia in London in 2025.
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.'
