According to prosecutors, Egisto Ott, a former employee of the Directorate of National Security and Intelligence, “systematically” provided information to the Russian secret services.
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Moscow worries Vienna. The Chancellor of Austria called on Monday April 1 to strengthen the security of the Alpine country after the arrest of a former Austrian secret agent, suspected of spying for Russia. In front of these “serious accusations”, “it is necessary to assess and clarify the security situation in the Republic”, Karl Nehammer said in a statement, convening a National Security Council on April 9.
Egisto Ott, former employee of the Directorate of National Security and Intelligence, was arrested on Friday. At the end of his police custody, the Vienna Regional Court on Monday ordered his placement in pre-trial detention due to “risks of collusion and commission of a crime”, the spokesperson for the body, Christina Salzborn, told AFP. She did not want to give details of the facts with which she is accused. According to elements from the prosecution cited by the APA press agency, Egisto Ott would have “systematically” provided information to Russian secret services.
“We must stop Russian spy networks from threatening our country”
Austria has been shaken on several occasions by embarrassing espionage cases for the benefit of Moscow. At the beginning of 2018, allied services limited their cooperation with this neutral country, not a member of NATO, for fear of leaks. “We must prevent Russian spy networks from threatening our country by infiltrating or exploiting political parties or networks”he underlined, in allusion to the far-right FPÖ movement linked in the past to Moscow.
