Austria faces its biggest espionage scandal in decades as the arrest of a former intelligence officer brings to light evidence of extensive Russian infiltration, lax official oversight and behavior worthy of a spy novel.
WorldFILE - The logo of payment company Wirecard is pictured at the headquarters in Munich, Germany on July 20, 2020. Egisto Ott was arrested March 29. The 86-page arrest warrant, obtained by The Associated Press, alleges among other things that he handed over cellphone data of former high-ranking Austrian officials to Russian intelligence, helped plot a burglary at a prominent journalist's apartment, and wrote up “suggestions for improvement” after a Russian-ordered killing in Germany.
“The case is special given its international dimension and the fact that it is not only about espionage but also about the infiltration of the Austrian political system and the weakening of the country’s internal security,” he said. At the BVT, Ott served under Martin Weiss, the former chief of Austrian intelligence operations. Prosecutors alleged that Ott and Weiss have a “close friendship.” In the arrest warrant, they say that Weiss began to work for Marsalek and Wirecard after leaving the intelligence agency in 2018, and that he passed orders from Marsalek and Russian operatives to Ott. According to the arrest warrant, Marsalek said in a text message that he helped"evacuate" Weiss to Dubai.
Ott also allegedly requested data from the information system of Europe's border-free travel area to ascertain whether suspected Russian operatives and former Wirecard employees were wanted or subject to travel restrictions. Prosecutors say the phones were given to an unknown agent working for Marsalek at the Vienna apartment of Ott's former son-in-law and “transferred to Moscow for further analysis.” They say the phones contained “sensitive official and private data.”
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