Spy Arrest Puts Cold War Spotlight Back On Vienna

Vienna, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Apr, 2024) The arrest of a former Austrian intelligence officer on suspicion of spying for Russia has put a spotlight on Vienna as a spy nest in a new era of East-West confrontation.

The Austrian capital was long a hotbed of spy activity during the Cold War. And Chancellor Karl Nehammer last week urged heightened security, calling a National Security Council meeting on Tuesday to "assess and clarify the security situation" following the "serious accusations" against Egisto Ott.

Ott -- a former intelligence service employee suspended in 2017 -- was arrested on March 29 and accused of "systematically" providing information to the Russian secret services, according to information from the public prosecutor's office quoted by the APA press agency.

Ott was detained after British authorities seized written messages exchanged between on-the-run tycoon Jan Marsalek and a suspected spy arrested in Britain.

Marsalek is the Austrian former chief operating officer of payments firm Wirecard, who became a wanted man in Germany over fraud allegations.

He fled Germany in June 2020 through Austria and is believed to be in Russia.