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Austria Jails Ex-Intelligence Officer 4 Years for Russia Spy

5/22/2026

Summary

Egisto Ott Sentenced

Austria’s Vienna Criminal Court sentenced former intelligence officer Egisto Ott to four years, one month in prison for spying for Russia.
A unanimous jury found Ott guilty of passing police data, interior-ministry phone info and an encrypted EU laptop to Russian intelligence and to Jan Marsalek, former Wirecard executive.
The case, Austria’s biggest espionage trial, has prompted the coalition government to consider stricter espionage laws protecting the EU and international organisations.

Summary

Ott Aids Spy

Ott stored stolen data in his Gmail and agency files, misusing resources.
He said a superior contacted by an intelligence agency ordered him to locate Russian agent Dmitry Senin, an asylum seeker in Montenegro.
Ott gave Bellingcat journalist Christo Grozev his Vienna address, prompting a break-in and Grozev’s relocation.
He sold a SINA-S EU laptop for €20,000 and handed three phones from a 2017 boating accident to the Russian-linked group.

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Egisto Ott Sentenced

Austria’s Vienna Criminal Court sentenced former intelligence officer Egisto Ott to four years, one month in prison for spying for Russia.
A unanimous jury found Ott guilty of passing police data, interior-ministry phone info and an encrypted EU laptop to Russian intelligence and to Jan Marsalek, former Wirecard executive.
The case, Austria’s biggest espionage trial, has prompted the coalition government to consider stricter espionage laws protecting the EU and international organisations.

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