Miklos Bolza
Updated ,first published
An Australian businessman negligently collected reports on people he should have suspected of being Chinese spies, a court has found.
Alexander Csergo, 59, was running a business in Shanghai when he was followed on LinkedIn in November 2021 by a woman claiming to be from a Chinese think tank.
His decision to prepare false, stolen reports for two people known only as Ken and Evelyn was enough for the NSW District Court on Friday to find him guilty of one count of negligent interference with strangers.
He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
But the IT consultant will get at least one more weekend of relative freedom after prosecutors accepted a request for immediate detention.
The 59-year-old should have suspected that Ken and Evelyn were working for China’s Ministry of State Security, the court found.
The former Waverley College athletics captain with a bachelor’s degree in science began working in China in 2002 after stints at Telstra and Hyatt International.
He went on to work with a major US advertising agency, led the design of data analytics infrastructure for Shanghai Volkswagen and later helped build systems for China Telecom and French broadcaster JCDecaux.
After its launch in November 2021, Csergo used open source information to prepare reports on various topics including mining, politics, defense and security.
He claimed to have interviewed several people, including former prime minister Kevin Rudd.
The reports were delivered to Ken or Evelyn in person – sometimes in deserted cafes and restaurants – in exchange for envelopes containing the equivalent of thousands of dollars in cash.
Despite the value of this information, the jury found Csergo guilty after being told by crown prosecutors that his relationship with him and his communications were important.
Ken also gave the 59-year-old a “shopping list” of sensitive topics for research when he returns to Australia in early 2023.
This document was found by domestic spies and police when they raided his Bondi home in Sydney’s east in March that year.
Csergo was the second person charged by the government’s Special Police Force to Combat Foreign Interference since the new law came into effect in 2018.
In her closing submissions to the jury, prosecutor Jennifer Single said trust grew between Csergo and his two handlers, indicated by cash payments rising from the equivalent of about $1000 to more than $6000.
After the guilty verdict, Single applied to remand Csergo.
But it was opposed by the businessman’s lawyer.
Due to the complexity of the case and the timing, Judge Craig Smith continued Csergo’s bail until a full hearing on Monday morning.
The Crown agreed on the condition that Csergo report to the police twice a day on weekends.
Csergo declined to comment to reporters as he left court Friday afternoon.
AAP
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