The retired 70-year-old Austrian colonel is suspected of spying for Russia while attending NATO seminars. He transferred information obtained there to Russian special services, the Austrian Salzburger Nachrichten daily reported on Friday.
According to the newspaper, the colonel attended NATO seminars through “partnership programmes” as Austria is not part of the North Atlantic Alliance, since the country maintains a neutral status.
The Austrian authorities are investigating him for allegedly transferring information to Russia’s military intelligence on the migrant crisis as well as Austria’s military aviation and artillery systems. He also transferred contact data from the Austrian Armed Forces’ corporate network, the daily added.
The colonel was interested in so-called “soft information” too – weaknesses of influential people, their favorite foods and drinks, and public opinion in different army units.
The Austrian Public Prosecutor’s Office has initiated a criminal case against the retired colonel. If found guilty, he may face up to ten years behind bars.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Defense Minister Mario Kunasek confirmed the espionage probe was underway.
Kurz earlier said that Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl had cancelled her visit to Russia, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted there had been no queries from Vienna to Moscow over its suspicions.
Lavrov added that it was an “unpleasant surprise” for him to get no request at all from Vienna for any explanations over the affair.
“Lately, our Western counterparts have made it a rule not to use traditional methods but rather megaphone diplomacy. They accuse us in public and then demand public explanations over an issue we know nothing about,” Lavrov said.
Austria’s accusations are based on suspicions, and there is no evidence backing them up, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “We emphasized that the steps taken by Vienna, based on suspicions without any evidence whatsoever, have already led to the complication of our relations, which until recently enjoyed a positive dynamic.”
Austrian newspaper Presse reported that the ex-colonel has “confessed” to being paid by Russia.