Former Austrian Intelligence Officer Egisto Ott Jailed for Russia Espionage
A Vienna jury has convicted former Austrian intelligence officer Egisto Ott, 63, of providing sensitive information to Russian intelligence services and to Jan Marsalek, the absconding executive of the defunct German payments firm Wirecard. The court sentenced Ott to four years and one month in prison, a verdict his legal representation has stated they will appeal.
Ott, who maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings, was also found guilty of misuse of office, bribery, aggravated fraud, and breach of trust. Prosecutors detailed how Ott, between 2015 and 2020, supported a "secret intelligence service of the Russian Federation" by extracting confidential data and extensive personal information from police databases, which he then transmitted to Marsalek and other unidentified Russian operatives in exchange for payment.
Marsalek, an Austrian national, is currently sought by German authorities for alleged fraud and is widely believed to be residing in Moscow, having fled via Austria in 2020. Subject to an Interpol Red Notice, Marsalek is suspected of operating as a Russian intelligence asset.
The prosecution presented evidence alleging Marsalek tasked Ott with obtaining a laptop containing sensitive electronic security hardware, critical for secure communication among EU states. This device, they claimed, was subsequently passed to Russian intelligence. Furthermore, Ott was found to have transmitted phone data from senior Austrian Interior Ministry officials to Russia, after acquiring their work phones following an incident on the River Danube.
Prosecutors argued that Ott's motivations were primarily financial and driven by professional dissatisfaction, rather than any ideological affinity for Russia. The case has cast further light on the alleged activities of Marsalek, who faces separate charges of fraud and embezzlement related to inflating Wirecard's balance sheet. Marsalek is also believed to have overseen a group of Bulgarian nationals convicted in London in 2025 for espionage on behalf of Russia.
