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. Egisto Ott was arrested March 29.
FILE - The logo of payment company Wirecard is pictured at the headquarters in Munich, Germany on July 20, 2020. Austria faces its biggest espionage scandal in decades as the arrest of a former intelligence officer brings to light evidence of extensive Russia n infiltration, lax official oversight and behavior worthy of a spy novel. FILE - Outside view of the Russia n embassy in Vienna , Austria , on March 19, 2010.
Austria, which was located next to the Iron Curtain during the Cold War and long had good connections with Moscow, is a European Union member with a policy of military neutrality — and a longstanding reputation as a spying center.Ott, a former police officer, was an intelligence officer in Turkey and Italy from 2001 to 2012 before moving on to manage undercover agents at Austria’s now-defunct domestic intelligence agency, the BVT.
Ott’s lawyer declined to comment, saying he had only recently taken over Ott’s defense. Ott has previously denied the espionage allegations and any wrongdoing. The warrant contains a long list of people who were spied on, including Russian dissidents, businesspeople and a former officer who had quit the FSB.While allegations that Ott sought information for Russia first surfaced in 2017, British intelligence recently provided Austria with significant new information..
Ott also allegedly helped Marsalek smuggle a stolen SINA computer, a device used by many European governments for transmitting classified information, to Moscow. After a handover at the same Vienna apartment, Marsalek wrote in a message that the device was successfully transported to the Lubyanka — where the FSB has its headquarters in Moscow — according to prosecutors.
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