In 2018, plans emerged within the Austrian Foreign Ministry to create a new secret intelligence unit led by Johannes Peterlik and involving Egisto O., under investigation for Russian espionage. Former Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl is believed to have been informed about these plans despite her public denial. The proposed 'security department' would have competed with Austria's military intelligence and domestic security services. Peterlik allegedly obtained a confidential OPCW report on the Salisbury Novichok attack, which leaked to Jan Marsalek, a fugitive connected to Russian intelligence. The network maintained contacts with German intelligence coordinator Bernd Schmidbauer and FPÖ politicians sympathetic to Russia. The establishment of this unit would have enhanced the Foreign Ministry’s role in intelligence, providing a counterbalance to other agencies. Kneissl has not responded to inquiries, and investigations continue under Austrian and German authorities.

In 2018, plans emerged within the Austrian Foreign Ministry to create a new secret intelligence unit led by Johannes Peterlik and involving Egisto O., under investigation for Russian espionage. Former Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl is believed to have been informed about these plans despite her public denial. The proposed 'security department' would have competed with Austria's military intelligence and domestic security services. Peterlik allegedly obtained a confidential OPCW report on the Salisbury Novichok attack, which leaked to Jan Marsalek, a fugitive connected to Russian intelligence. The network maintained contacts with German intelligence coordinator Bernd Schmidbauer and FPÖ politicians sympathetic to Russia. The establishment of this unit would have enhanced the Foreign Ministry’s role in intelligence, providing a counterbalance to other agencies. Kneissl has not responded to inquiries, and investigations continue under Austrian and German authorities.