Austria expels Russian diplomat suspected of spying on oil company

Austria expelled a Russian diplomat on Sept. 30 over suspicions that the diplomat relayed company secrets from Austrian oil company OMV along to the Kremlin.

The Russian diplomat, who served as an employee of the Russian Embassy in Vienna, has left the country after Moscow refused to lift his diplomatic immunity, allowing an investigation into the allegations, a government spokesperson told Austrian outlet APA.

The attempted investigation stems from a meeting between the diplomat and with a former senior employee of OMV in which Austrian intelligence authorities say the employee allegedly shared sensitive documents with the Russian official.

Authorities have not provided information on the scope of information the employee allegedly shared with the diplomat, however, Austrian magazine Profil reported that the employee most recently worked with the Abu Dhabi National Oil, a shareholder of OMV.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, various Western countries have arrested citizens for covert espionage activities related to the war in Ukraine. Moscow has expanded its espionage activities primarily among European nations.

In recent months, the Kremlin has grown increasingly concerned about the rise in Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries and the EU’s phase-out of Russian energy imports, as economic pressure on Russia's war machine continues to mount.

In December 2024, OMV, which serves as the largest oil company in central Europe, terminated its long-term gas supply contract with Russia's Gazprom Export — a contract was originally set to last until 2040.

The company cited "numerous material violations of contractual obligations" by Gazprom. According to OMV, gas deliveries stopped on Nov. 16, 2024.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sept. 16 that the EU will propose to phase out Russian energy purchases sooner than initially planned, amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.

No details on a timeline for the proposed phase out were immediately available. Under its current plan, the EU aims to phase out energy purchases completely by the end of 2027.