It is probably the most important court trial of the year, which begins on Thursday in Austria’s capital Vienna: sitting in the dock Egisto Thereformer chief inspector at the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism.
The public prosecutor’s office accuses the 63-year-old of having worked as a Russian spy for years and of massively endangering national security. Ott denies all allegations.
The allegations are reminiscent of Hollywood or at least the “crime scene”: between 2015 and 2021, Ott is said to have systematically queried sensitive data from police databases and forwarded them to the Russian secret service – including locations, license plates and travel movements. One of his alleged victims was the investigative journalist Christo Grozew, who was living in Vienna at the time. He has long been a thorn in the side of the Kremlin.
Particularly explosive: Ott’s alleged connection to the person in hiding Ex-Wirecard-Manager Jan Marsalekwho is said to have worked as a Russian agent for the FSB. In June 2022, Ott is said to have organized work cell phones for him from a former head of cabinet and two Interior Ministry employees.
Fell into the water
According to prosecutors, the devices that fell into the water during a boat trip in 2017 were passed on to a suspected middleman Otts for data recovery. This is said to have been used to transport the cell phones, including sensitive data, to Moscow.
That’s not all: in November 2022, Ott is said to have passed a highly sensitive SINA laptop containing secret service information to Russian agents. He is said to have received 20,000 euros for this. Ott is also accused of violating official secrecy: in 2019 he is said to have communicated personal data of BVT officials to the then Secretary General in the Foreign Office, which he shared with the Creation of the Ibiza video associated.
Another accusation is particularly shocking: according to the so-called Berlin Tiergarten murder 2019in which a Russian agent shot a Chechen dissident, Ott is said to have written a “error analysis” for the Russian secret service.
He pointed out weak points in the commission of the crime and thus, according to the prosecution, provided a “guide for contract killings”. Prosecutors suspect financial reasons and frustration with superiors as motives for Ott’s alleged collaboration with Russia.
Permanently suspended
In November 2017, Ott was suspended for the first time because US secret services had provided information about the alleged espionage activities. He was transferred to the Security Academy in 2018, but is said to have continued to request data from there. There was only a permanent suspension at the beginning of 2021.
The fact that Ott was able to continue for so long is also due to Austrian peculiarities. Espionage is only punishable in this country if it is directed directly against Austria. The maximum penalty range of five years is also significantly lower than that in Germany.
There is talk, for example, of a “lax legal situation” and a “weak counter-espionage staff”. Secret service expert Thomas Riegler. The short statute of limitations and the complicated evidentiary procedure in secret service cases also make the work of the authorities more difficult. Added Austria’s proximity to Russia, which has grown over decades influential political and economic circles.
The investigations against him were all “constructed,” said Ott before the trial. A co-accused, an IT specialist in the police service, also rejects the allegations. Whether the jury believes the two will not be decided until March at the earliest after ten planned days of trial.