New Details – Egisto Ott: No State Secrets on Cell Phones

As reported, court staff argued that there was no longer any risk that the crime would be committed. However, there is still strong suspicion of foul play, it said. A little later it became known that mobile phones allegedly passed on by the Ministry of the Interior did not contain state secrets. According to witnesses, only personal data that fell under official secrecy could be found.

Handing over data to the secret service?
Ott is accused of handing over the cellphones of three former officials who fell into the water to Russia’s domestic secret service. He denies this. The former Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is also accused of revealing reporting details of investigative journalist Christo Grozev to Russian agents. According to the court, the fact that a reporting ban applied to Grozev is only speculation.

Laptop with the lowest protection class
Another allegation is that the former chief inspector of the BVT sold a laptop with special security features to the Russian secret service, which may have contained explosive data. The court ruled that the laptop would have had the lowest protection class, namely that for official use. Such laptops are found on standard workstations at federal authorities. Higher levels are ‘confidential’ and ‘secret’. However, a laptop with the lowest protection class may not be sold to Russia. What data was on the laptop is currently unknown.

The Viennese public prosecutor’s office has been investigating Ott since 2017 for abuse of office, secret intelligence to the detriment of Austria, violation of official secrecy and other criminal offenses. He was released in February 2021 and on June 26, 2024.