Egisto Ott, 63, a former Austrian intelligence official, is charged with corruption and espionage. Prosecutors allege that he spied for Moscow with sensitive intelligence and devices from 2015 to 2022, threatening Austria’s standing with allied services.
The trial at Vienna’s criminal court stems from a sprawling 2024 investigation linking Ott to Jan Marsalek, the fugitive Wirecard executive suspected of working for Russia’s FSB.
Ott is accused of handing over cell phones belonging to top interior ministry officials, allegedly acting on Marsalek’s orders in exchange for over €80,000.
This breach reportedly granted the Kremlin access to sensitive contacts, endangering Ukrainian and Chechen refugees in Austria. Furthermore, Ott allegedly provided the FSB with a specialized encrypted laptop, which was subsequently sold to Iran.
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To gather intelligence, prosecutors claim Ott exploited European databases and manipulated Italian and British authorities into unknowingly aiding Moscow. This allowed him to leak information on vulnerable individuals, including a former spy in hiding.
Investigators also uncovered a document allegedly written by Ott following a 2019 murder in Berlin, which prosecutors describe as a guide for conducting assassinations on EU soil. Ott denies the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of five years.
This case underscores the espionage challenges facing Austria, a country that has historically viewed itself as a bridge between Moscow and the West.
Ott was previously suspended in 2017 and briefly arrested in 2021. Although he stood trial in 2024 for leaking information to a far-right politician, he was acquitted of those specific charges in 2025.
