A long-time employee at Austria’s partly state-owned oil and gas company OMV has been exposed as a suspected Russian spy, according to the news magazine profil. The employee is reportedly a naturalized Eastern European citizen.
The alleged mole had been monitored for weeks by the Directorate for State Security and Intelligence (DSN). He came under suspicion after meeting with a Russian Embassy diplomat in Vienna who is believed by intelligence services to be linked to Russia’s FSB security agency.
During a raid at the employee’s home, authorities seized sensitive documents that are now being analyzed. Investigators are still trying to determine whether he acted alone, how long information may have been passed, and what exactly was compromised. According to the report, the suspect also worked for a time with Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil company Adnoc, a co-owner of OMV.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry has also become involved. The chargé d’affaires of the Russian Embassy was summoned and asked to lift the immunity of the embassy staff member in question. The deadline expires in a few days. If Moscow refuses, the diplomat will be declared persona non grata and expelled from the country.
OMV confirmed to profil that “the employment relationship with the staff member in question was terminated with immediate effect.” The company said it is cooperating fully with the authorities but declined to provide further details, citing employment privacy.
