Austria’s biggest spy trial for decades puts ex-intelligence officer in the dock

Former intelligence official Egisto Ott appeared in court in Vienna on Thursday, accused of spying for Russia in what has been called Austria’s biggest spy case in recent years.

Egisto Ott, 63, is accused of providing information to Russian intelligence officers and Jan Marsalek, the fugitive executive of the collapsed German payments company Wirecard.

Ott denies the accusations.

It is believed that Jan Marsalek, who is also an Austrian citizen, is wanted by German police on allegations of fraud and is currently in Moscow after escaping through Austria in 2020.

It is claimed that the person who was the subject of Interpol’s red notice is an intelligence officer of Russia’s secret security service, the FSB.

The spy scandal has revived fears that Austria remains a hotbed of Russian espionage activity and that observers will be keeping a close eye on any details that may emerge about Marsalek.

Prosecutors in Vienna say Egisto Ott “abused his authority” as an Austrian intelligence official by collecting large amounts of personal data such as locations, vehicle license plate numbers or travel movements.

They say he did this without permission between 2015 and 2020, often using national and international police databases.

Prosecutors also accuse him of supporting “a secret intelligence service of the Russian Federation to the detriment of the Republic of Austria” by collecting secret facts and large amounts of personal data from police databases between 2017 and 2021.

They say that Egisto Ott gave this information to Jan Marsalek and unknown representatives of the Russian intelligence agency and received payment in return.

Prosecutors say that in 2022, Jan Marsalek tasked him with obtaining a laptop containing secret electronic security hardware used by EU states for secure electronic communications. They say the laptop was handed over to the Russian intelligence service.

He is also suspected of transferring phone data of senior Austrian interior ministry officials to Russia, according to reports.

Austria’s Standard newspaper reported that the interior ministry seized Egisto Ott’s business phones after he accidentally fell into the Danube during a boat trip.

He allegedly copied its contents and forwarded them to Jan Marsalek and Moscow.

Egisto Ott is accused of abuse of power, corruption and espionage against Austria and faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

When he was arrested in 2024, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer described the incident as “a threat to democracy and the national security of our country.”

Separately, prosecutors in the Austrian town of Wiener Neustadt told the BBC that former MP Thomas Schellenbacher has been charged with helping Marsalek escape after the Wirecard company collapsed in 2020 with €1.9 billion missing from its accounts.

Schellenbacher allegedly helped Jan Marsalek fly from Bad Vöslau in Austria to Belarus in June 2020.

Schellenbacher was a member of parliament for the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), which is accused by the now-opposition Austrian Green Party of enabling Russian espionage and acting as an “extension of Russia’s arm” in Austria.

The FPÖ and its leader Herbert Kickl denied the allegations and did not face any legal action in connection with them.

Marsalek, who was Wirecard’s Chief Operating Officer, has since been charged with fraud and embezzlement, suspected of inflating the company’s balance sheet totals and sales volume.

He is also believed to be the controller of a group of Bulgarians convicted of spying for Russia in London in 2025.

Messages from this hearing reveal that Marsalek underwent plastic surgery to change both her appearance and the details of her life as a fugitive.

In February 2022, she wrote to Roussev, one of the Bulgarians, on Telegram: “My bed. I had another plastic surgery, I’m trying to look different and I’m very tired and have a headache.”

In another, dated May 11, 2021, Roussev congratulated Marsalek on learning Russian.

“I’m trying to improve my skills in several areas. Language is one of them,” the Austrian replied.

“I must outperform James Bond in my new role as an international fugitive.”