An Australian businessman recklessly compiled reports for individuals whom he should have suspected were Chinese spies, a jury has found. Alexander Csergo, 59, was running a business in Shanghai when he was approached on LinkedIn in November 2021 by a woman claiming to be from a Chinese think tank.
His decision to then prepare fake, plagiarised reports for two individuals only known as Ken and Evelyn was enough for a NSW District Court jury on Friday to find him guilty of one count of reckless foreign interference. The 59-year-old should have suspected Ken and Evelyn were working for China's Ministry of State Security, the jury found.
The case reveals both the sophistication of recruitment methods and the relatively low value of information sought. After being approached in November 2021, Csergo used open-source information to compile reports on a variety of topics including mining, politics, defence and security. He falsely claimed he had interviewed a number of individuals, including former prime minister Kevin Rudd.
In her closing submissions to the jury, crown prosecutor Jennifer Single said trust increased between Csergo and his two handlers, shown by cash payments rising from the equivalent of about $1000 to more than $6000. The reports were handed to Ken or Evelyn in person, sometimes at restaurants and cafes devoid of other people, in exchange for envelopes containing the equivalent of thousands of dollars in cash.
What makes the conviction intriguing is that despite this information being worthless, the jury still found Csergo guilty after being told by crown prosecutors that the relationship with him and his contacts were valuable. The prosecution succeeded by focusing not on the quality of intelligence but on Csergo's recklessness in failing to stop when he should have suspected state involvement.
According to the prosecutor, Csergo could have approached Australian authorities after feeling under Chinese surveillance, yet he chose not to because he intended to return to China and continue his relationship with them. Ken handed the 59-year-old a 'shopping list' of sensitive topics to research when he returned to Australia in early 2023. This document was found by domestic spies and police when they raided his eastern Sydney home in March that year.
He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years behind bars. Csergo spent 15 months on remand before he was bailed to live with his elderly mother in June 2024. Judge Craig Smith continued the offender's bail until a full hearing could be held on Monday morning. The Crown consented on the condition Csergo report to police twice a day over the weekend.
Csergo was the second person charged by the federal police's Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce since new laws came into effect in 2018. The verdict signals that Australian courts will convict where the Crown establishes both recklessness and the accused's knowledge of risks involved. For Australian businesses operating in China, the case serves as a reminder that intelligence recruitment tactics may appear innocuous on the surface, yet engagement with third parties of unclear origin carries legal consequences.