2024-04-11 17:17:10
► Who is Egisto Ott, suspected of spying for Russia?
Former employee of the Directorate of National Security and Intelligence, the Austrian security service, Egisto Ott, 61, was arrested on March 29 in Austria. The revelations which have followed one another since then show the extent of Russian penetration. According to the 86-page arrest warrant, which leaked to the Austrian press, Egisto Ott had been cooperating with Russia since 2017, to whom he allegedly provided sensitive information in exchange for payment.
In particular, he allegedly provided the contents of several ministers’ mobile phones, then the address of an investigative journalist, Christo Grozev, a member of the Bellingcat collective who has carried out numerous embarrassing investigations for the Russian government. Egisto Ott also allegedly helped Russia obtain a device used by European governments to transmit encrypted information.
He was in contact with another Austrian national, who appeared to be the head of a Russian spy network, Jan Marsalek. The latter was operational director of the German payment services company Wirecard, which was placed in bankruptcy after a fraud leaving several billion in debt. Jan Marsalek has disappeared and is now believed to be in Moscow under a false identity, protected by Russian intelligence services. Even more embarrassing, Egisto Ott had already been suspected of spying for Russia, but left free without any prosecution.
► Why is this affair particularly debated in Austria?
Conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer convened a National Security Council on Tuesday April 9, believing that it was necessary “prevent Russian spy networks from threatening our country by infiltrating or exploiting political parties or networks.”
Austria finds itself once again singled out as being a weak link in European security. A member country of the European Union, it remained outside the Atlantic Alliance. Vienna is home to both the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which are of interest to intelligence services of the whole world. The city of 2 million inhabitants has 17,000 accredited diplomats.
Above all, the transition to the government of the Freedom Party (FPÖ, far right), between 2017 and 2019 was marked by a clear rapprochement with Russia. At the time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, member of the FPÖ, Karin Kneissl, invited Vladimir Putin to her wedding and waltzed with him.
Today, Chancellor Karl Nehammer blames the far right. He accuses him of having facilitated Russian influence operations and espionage. The affair has a particularly strong resonance as Austria is due to have European elections in June, then legislative elections before the end of September, and the FPÖ is leading in the polls.
► What will be the reaction of the Austrian government?
The government wants to strengthen penalties against people accused of espionage. The Minister of Justice, Alma Zadic, plans to toughen the law. She deplores ” gaps “ who allowed the country to become “a paradise for spies from all over the world”. Currently, Austria benefits from a particularly permissive law: espionage is not considered reprehensible as long as it does not directly target Austria.
The government, currently led by a coalition of Conservatives and Greens, would like to put an end to this anomaly and ensure that espionage activities are punished “regardless of the person or institution that is targeted”.
The Directorate of National Security and Intelligence noted in its latest report that “Very limited legal options to combat espionage lead to an extremely high incidence of foreign intelligence services in the country”. According to him, Vienna could have up to 7,000 members of foreign secret services residing there.
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