Ex-Austria security official held on suspicion of spying

Wirecard AG

30/03/2024 10:07

VIENNA, March 30 (Reuters) - A former Austrian domestic
intelligence official with alleged ties to a fugitive former
executive of collapsed German payments company Wirecard has been
detained on suspicion of spying.
    Egisto Ott, an ex-employee of the now defunct Federal Office
for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism
(BVT), was arrested on Friday with another person, according to
a spokesperson for the Vienna public prosecutor's office.
    The spokesperson declined to say what the nature of the
spying allegations against Ott was, except that they related to
abuse of office and were detrimental to Austria.
    Ott, who has denied any wrongdoing, could not immediately be
reached for comment.
        According to German and Austrian media reports, Ott is
suspected of passing information to Jan Marsalek, a former board
member of German payments company Wirecard, which imploded in
2020. Marsalek, an Austrian, is wanted by German police over
alleged fraud and his whereabouts are currently unknown.
    German magazine Der Spiegel said Ott and another former
Austrian security official fed Marsalek with sensitive data.    
Ott rejected the allegations in an article published this month
by Austrian newspaper Der Standard.
    A court in Munich has been trying former executives of
Wirecard since December 2022.

 (Writing by Dave Graham
Editing by Frances Kerry)
 ((dave.graham@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
dave.graham.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))