Former Austrian intelligence official convicted of spying for Russia

A Vienna jury found former intelligence official Egisto Ott guilty of spying for Russia in what prosecutors called one of Austria's largest espionage cases in years.

Ott, 63, was convicted of handing over information to Russian intelligence officers and to Jan Marsalek, the fugitive former executive of the collapsed German payments firm Wirecard. He was sentenced to four years and one month in prison. His lawyer has filed an appeal.

The court also found Ott guilty of misuse of office, bribery, aggravated fraud and breach of trust. Prosecutors said he collected secret facts and large amounts of personal data from police databases between 2015 and 2020 and passed the material to Marsalek and Russian intelligence officers in exchange for payment.

Marsalek, an Austrian citizen wanted by German police for alleged fraud, is believed to be in Moscow after fleeing through Austria in 2020. Prosecutors told the court that Marsalek asked Ott to obtain a laptop containing secret electronic security hardware used by EU states. The laptop was later handed to Russian intelligence.

Ott was also convicted of passing phone data from senior Austrian interior ministry officials to Russia. He obtained the phones after they fell into the River Danube during a ministry boating trip, copied their contents and delivered the data to Marsalek and Moscow.

The prosecution said Ott acted for financial reasons and out of frustration with his work rather than any ideological attachment to Russia. Ott denied the charges and told the court he had been running a covert operation with a Western intelligence service.

The case has also highlighted further alleged activities by Marsalek, who has been charged with fraud and embezzlement in connection with the inflation of Wirecard's balance sheet and sales figures.