Ex-intelligence officer in Austria's biggest spy trial for years

BBC News - WorldCenterEN 3 min read 100% complete January 22, 2026 at 02:00 AM

AI Summary

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Former Austrian intelligence officer Egisto Ott is on trial in Vienna, accused of spying for Russia in what is considered Austria's biggest spy trial in years. Ott is charged with abusing his authority by collecting large amounts of personal data from police databases between 2015 and 2021 and passing it to Russian intelligence officers and Jan Marsalek, a fugitive executive of Wirecard. Prosecutors allege Ott supported Russian intelligence to the detriment of Austria, receiving payment in return. He is also accused of obtaining and handing over a laptop containing sensitive EU security hardware to Russian intelligence in 2022. Ott faces charges of abuse of authority, corruption, and espionage against Austria, potentially carrying a five-year sentence.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

German police 30% Moscow 40% Republic of Austria 50% Wirecard 50% Vienna ×260% FSB 60% Russia ×370% Jan Marsalek ×680% Russian intelligence ×480% Austria ×590% Egisto Ott ×790%

Keywords

egisto ott 100% russian intelligence 90% espionage 90% spy trial 80% jan marsalek 80% data collection 70% austria 70% police databases 60% abuse of authority 50% corruption 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.60

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Source

BBC News - World

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Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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egisto ott russian intelligence espionage spy trial jan marsalek data collection austria police databases abuse of authority corruption

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