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.

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,”

Between 2017 and 2021, the Austrian warrant says, Ott collected sensitive information on people of interest to Russia “for the purpose of transmission to Jan Marsalek and to unknown representatives of Russian authorities” by conducting numerous searches in national police databases and making requests to other European police officers, including in Italy and Britain.

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    5•7 months ago

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    VIENNA (AP) — 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.

    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.

    Ott is suspected of having provided sensitive information to Jan Marsalek, a fugitive fellow Austrian wanted on suspicion of fraud since the collapse in 2020 of German payment company Wirecard, where he was the chief operating officer.

    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 also allegedly got hold of the cellphones of three former high-ranking Austrian Interior Ministry officials, including a former minister’s chief of staff, when they were supposed to be repaired by BVT IT specialists after falling into the water during a boat excursion on the Danube in 2017.

    Investigators also found a lessons-learned analysis on Ott’s mobile phone that contained “suggestions for improvement” for Russian intelligence operations in Europe following the 2019 killing in Berlin of a Georgian citizen of Chechen ethnicity.

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