An ex-Austrian intelligence officer was found guilty of passing on state secrets to a fugitive former top executive at the fraudulent payments company Wirecard in a high-profile spy case that has prompted authorities in Vienna to tighten rules on espionage.
Egisto Ott was handed a prison sentence of more than four years for spying, abuse of office, bribery and embezzlement, and other charges, according to a statement from the Vienna Regional Criminal Court late on Wednesday. He was found innocent on some counts and will appeal the verdict, a lawyer told reporters outside the courtroom.
Ott, who had been a director in his nation’s secret service, was accused of passing on classified information to Wirecard’s ex-chief operating officer Jan Marsalek and Russian operatives between 2017 and 2021. The intelligence related among others to former Russian spies and Bellingcat investigative journalist Christo Grozev, who has since left Austria for security reasons.
He was also found guilty of handing over an encrypted laptop used by European Union officials to an unknown person on behalf of Marsalek, who ran a ring of Russian spies and is reportedly living in Moscow after fleeing prosecution.
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“I’m surprised that almost the highest penalty has been given to a person without prior conviction,” Ott’s lawyer Anna Mair said on Wednesday. “We will challenge the verdict in its entirety.”
Ott’s conviction follows a lengthy court trial that included 40 witnesses and was closely followed in Austria due to the ex-intelligence officer’s alleged ties to the far-right Freedom Party.
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The centrist coalition in Vienna is preparing stricter rules on espionage to shed a reputation of being one of Europe’s largest hubs for covert operations. Current legislation only prohibits spying to the detriment of Austria, meaning intelligence officers are free to conduct operations against international organisations and foreigners.