Who is the former secret agent Egisto Ott? How a suspected double agent shook up the Republic of Austria and what that has to do with Wirecard and politics. The “Krone” searches for clues.
Egisto Ott. A Secret Service agent has gone astray. Who is this man? How could he destabilize the intelligence service, shake up the republic, who was involved, what role did politics play? There are many unanswered questions.
Image: The network of Russian spies
Arrested on Good Friday
On Good Friday, Egisto Ott’s adventurous journey ends in his home country of Carinthia. He is being arrested. Due to suspected espionage for Russia. The official, who was suspended in 2021, is said to have systematically provided Russian secret services with information from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and personal data from police databases. On Easter Sunday we go into detention. Not the first time. Ott is accused of serious crimes. And it has become a political issue.
Ott was fascinated by Jörg Haider
Ott started his career in the early 1990s as a police officer, coming from the SPÖ camp, but was fascinated by FPÖ star Jörg Haider. The connections with the Blues endured. And he was an unpleasant employee who often caused offense. 2015 the start of a fateful relationship. To BVT department head Martin Weiss. Both are suspected of having formed a cell to provide information to the Russians. Explosive: Ott is said to have planned a mini-secret service at the Foreign Ministry of Karin Kneissl (FPÖ). Kneissl became internationally known for her dance with Putin. Which she also defends today.
Contacts with Marsalek
Egisto Ott is also said to be responsible for a group against the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which led to the storming of the authority by the WKStA in 2018. A scandal and low point in the history of the secret service and international excitement. Austria’s reputation as a partner has been seriously damaged. Ott and Weiss were no longer with BVT. Weiss joined Wirecard. At the scandalous company, the fugitive board member, Viennese Jan Marsalek, helped Weiss escape to Russia. Weiss admitted asking Ott for questions for Marsalek.
The Chancellor is concerned about national security
But politicians were also among the secret service agent’s contacts and network. There is Hans Jörg Jenewein, Herbert Kickl’s former man for the rough stuff. He has now left the party. But he would have talked intensively with Ott. Even during a University committee. Now the ÖVP wants to summon him to the current committee to clarify the connections. Chancellor Karl Nehammer is very concerned: “I am pleased that the judiciary is now carrying out its task, because this is about nothing less than the national security of the republic. It is about averting the danger of foreign services gaining influence, even on political events.”
NEOS’ Helmut Brandstätter also became the focus of the former secret service agent’s attention. Ott came to him, he says. That was during the Ibiza Commission. He wanted to provide information. The meeting took place, but there was no relevant information, the politician said.
Legendary boat trip
And then there was the legendary, drunken boat trip by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2017. The starting point for the revelation of the calamities. The boat capsized and mobile phones of important officials fell into the water. An IT expert from BVT extracted the data that ended up with Ott. He allegedly handed her over to Russian agents in an apartment in Vienna – the ‘Krone’ reported. In a roundabout way, the information also reached ex-politician and debunker Peter Pilz. According to one accusation, he was part of a network and knew Ott well. But Pilz says: “I received the data via a USB stick. But nothing to do with Ott. If the ÖVP or others want to drag me into a Russian network, then that is character assassination. The ÖVP was always for Putin, I was always against him.”
Speaking of which, Jan Marsalek, who is considered a key spy for the Russians and their secret service FSB, is said to be under Kremlin protection. According to reputable sources, he is currently mainly in Dubai. Just like ex-secret service agent Weiss, who worked for Marsalek. The Emirates does not have an extradition treaty with Austria. Not even with Germany, where Marsalek is ‘the most wanted’ and where the Wirecard trial for billions in fraud is currently underway.
The presumption of innocence applies to all suspects.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
