Australian jury convicts Sydney consultant over deals with suspected Chinese spies
ABC News
A Sydney business consultant has been convicted of breaking Australia’s foreign interference laws by providing reports to two people he should have suspected were Chinese spies
MELBOURNE, Australia -- A Sydney business consultant was convicted Friday of breaking Australia’s foreign interference laws by providing reports to two people he should have suspected were Chinese spies.
Alexander Csergo, 59, is only the second person to be convicted under Australian laws against covert interference and espionage that angered China when they were legislated in 2018.
The jury that heard the trial in New South Wales District Court in Sydney found Csergo should have suspected that a man and woman he knew only as Ken and Evelyn were working for China’s ministry of state security.
He was found guilty of the charge of reckless foreign interference and was released on bail for the weekend to return to court Monday, when prosecutors will argue for him to be placed in custody. He faces a potential prison term of up to 15 years when he is sentenced.
Csergo’s lawyers argued he used open-source information as research. He also lied to the suspected spies about interviewing several individuals including Kevin Rudd, the former prime minister who is currently Australia’s ambassador to the U.S.
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