Former Austrian intelligence agent Egisto Ott goes on trial, accused of spying for Russia, leaking sensitive data and endangering national security.
VIENNA: A former Austrian intelligence official will stand trial on Thursday, charged with espionage for allegedly selling secret information and sensitive devices to Russia for years.
The case centres on 63-year-old ex-agent Egisto Ott, who faces charges of abuse of office, corruption and espionage to the detriment of Austria.
Ott has denied all accusations against him.
Prosecutors allege he acted on the orders of fugitive Austrian executive Jan Marsalek between 2015 and 2022, receiving over 80,000 euros.
Marsalek, a former Wirecard executive wanted for fraud, is suspected of working for Russia’s FSB intelligence service.
The indictment states Ott’s actions risked inflicting “serious damage” on Austria’s reputation among allied intelligence services.
He allegedly used European databases and sent requests for assistance to Italy and Britain, causing those countries to “unknowingly act in the interest” of Moscow.
Ott is also accused of handing over cell phones belonging to top Austrian interior ministry officials.
This reportedly gave the Kremlin access to thousands of contacts and endangered the safety of Ukrainian and Chechen refugees in Austria.
Prosecutors say he provided an encrypted laptop containing a secure communication hardware to the FSB, which was later sold to Iran.
Authorities allege Ott leaked information on individuals “at risk of reprisals,” including a former spy hiding abroad.
Investigators found a document he allegedly wrote after a 2019 Moscow-ordered assassination in Berlin.
Prosecutors dubbed it an “instruction manual for future smooth and successful assassinations on EU territory”.
If found guilty, Ott could face up to five years in prison.
The trial is the latest in a sprawling case that broke in 2024, rocking Austria’s intelligence community.
Ott was suspended in 2017 and briefly arrested in 2021 over the spying allegations.
He was acquitted in 2025 on separate charges of violating official secrecy for allegedly passing information to a far-right politician.
