The Bulgarian suspect acted as a point of contact for Russian intelligence.
Austrian authorities uncovered a Russian-led campaign to spread disinformation about Ukraine after the arrest of a Bulgarian woman accused of spying for Moscow.
Austria's domestic intelligence agency found evidence of the operation while analyzing devices found during a search of the woman's home, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. A few weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a cell working for Russian intelligence was set up to plan a major disinformation campaign in German-speaking countries, particularly Austria, ABC News reported.
The group was active online but also used graffiti with far-right symbols and nationalist messages that were meant to make it look as if pro-Ukrainian activists were responsible.
The Bulgarian suspect, whose name has not been released, played a significant role in the campaign and acted as an intelligence point of contact. She has admitted to working for Russia.
A year ago, the biggest spying scandal in decades erupted in Austria with the arrest of a former Austrian intelligence officer who was accused of passing mobile phone data of former high-ranking Austrian government officials to Russian intelligence and helping to plan a burglary at the apartment of a prominent journalist.
The former officer, who was later released from custody, is suspected of providing confidential information to Jan Marsalek, a fugitive Austrian colleague wanted on suspicion of fraud after the 2020 bankruptcy of German payments company Wirecard, where he was chief operating officer. The arrest warrant said messages in chat apps provided by British authorities linked Marsalek directly to the Russian intelligence agency FSB. | BGNES