One of Austria’s biggest espionage trials in decades came to a dramatic close on Wednesday as former intelligence officer Egisto Ott was sentenced to four years and one month in prison for abuse of office and spying activities linked to Russia, accoring to ORF News
A jury court found the former employee of Austria’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism guilty of illegally accessing personal data and working in the interests of Russia’s FSB intelligence service. The verdict is not yet final, as Ott’s defense team has already filed an appeal.
The sentence was considered severe, coming close to the maximum possible punishment of five years. Judges also ruled that Ott would not qualify for electronically monitored house arrest for at least 20 months, meaning he would have to serve that period inside a prison if the ruling stands.
The case has shaken Austria’s security establishment and exposed alleged links between former officials, Russian intelligence networks, and the disgraced former Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek, who remains internationally wanted.
Prosecutors said Ott repeatedly searched confidential personal data without official authorization and passed sensitive information to Russian intelligence contacts. He was also accused of helping transfer several mobile phones belonging to senior Austrian Interior Ministry officials to the FSB after the devices reportedly fell into the Danube during a boat trip in 2017.
In another key accusation, the court found Ott guilty of handing over a laptop containing intelligence material from an EU country to Russian agents. Prosecutors claimed he received 20,000 euros in return, leading to convictions for corruption and embezzlement as well.
According to investigators, Ott also prepared a “failure analysis” for Russian intelligence after the 2019 assassination of a Chechen exile in Berlin’s Tiergarten park, a killing widely linked to Moscow’s secret services.
Throughout the four month trial, Ott denied all accusations. He insisted he had not worked for Russia but had instead been involved in a covert operation coordinated with a Western intelligence agency.
A co-defendant, a police IT forensic expert accused of extracting phone data for Ott, received a suspended 15 month sentence for abuse of office and violating confidentiality laws.
The verdicts are not legally binding yet, and the presumption of innocence still applies until the appeals process is complete.
