Austrian ruling party accuses far right of enabling Russian spying

Wirecard AG

05/04/2024 16:24

By Francois Murphy
       VIENNA, April 5 (Reuters) - Austria's ruling Greens
party accused the far-right Freedom Party of enabling Russian
espionage on Friday as a scandal involving a fugitive former
executive of failed German payments firm Wirecard gathered
momentum.
    Allegations and evidence have been mounting that Austrian
former Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek orchestrated Russian
spying activities in his home country and ran double agents in
its domestic intelligence service.
    Last week's arrest of former domestic intelligence agent
Egisto Ott has thrown up new revelations, prompting both ruling
parties to accuse Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl, the
interior minister from 2017 to 2019, of being at fault over
failings in the security apparatus.
    "We have the potential infiltration of our secret services
by Russian agents. This is very, very serious and the Freedom
Party and ... Kickl are directly linked to it," Greens
parliamentary leader Sigrid Maurer told reporters.
    Her party has accused the Freedom Party (FPO) of acting as
"an extension of Russia's arm" in Austria.
    The FPO has taken a pro-Russia stance, opposing EU sanctions
imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Under a previous
leader, it also struck a cooperation agreement with Vladimir
Putin's United Russia party. 
    Kickl denies being pro-Russian and says his party is
defending Austrian neutrality. The FPO has denied all
allegations involving Marsalek.
    The FPO is leading in opinion polls, capitalising on
concerns about immigration and issues like inflation. A
parliamentary election is due this year.
    Prosecutors have said only that Ott was arrested on
suspicion of misuse of office and spying activity detrimental to
Austria, without elaborating. Ott denies any wrongdoing.
    Media reports say Ott is suspected of having passed phone
data from senior Interior Ministry officials to Russia.
    Calling Ott "the tip of the Russian iceberg", the Greens
said his arrest followed years of probes into a cell of
pro-Russian operators that Marsalek was able to "effortlessly
build and maintain within the Austrian services".
    A lawyer for Marsalek was not immediately available for
comment.
    Weekly newspaper Falter published excerpts from a document
ordering Ott's arrest showing he is suspected of obtaining under
false pretences the Vienna address of Bulgarian journalist
Christo Grozev, known for investigations into Russian
intelligence activities like the 2022 poisoning of opposition
politician Alexei Navalny, who died in prison this year.
    Grozev told Falter last year he had moved to the United
States for security reasons after living in Austria for years.
    "The Egisto Ott case is a threat to democracy and our
country's national security," conservative Chancellor Karl
Nehammer said on social media, calling for a swift investigation
to uncover all those involved.

 (Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Nick Macfie)
 ((francois.murphy@thomsonreuters.com; +43 1 2530 165 010;))