Alleged Spy Claims He Was Stringing Handlers Along, Prosecutor Says He Was Valuable to the CCP
Udumbara
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The trial of an Australian businessman has again exposed Beijing’s relentless efforts to obtain compromising intelligence and to interfere in the affairs of other countries.
Alexander Csergo is currently facing a New South Wales District Court jury trial accused of reckless foreign interference, but says he was only sending his contacts “BS” because he believed he was being spied on.
Csergo is the second individual to be charged under Australia’s foreign interference laws, the first being Duong Di Sanh—jailed for two years—and more recently a trio tasked by Beijing to spy on a local religious group.
The District Court heard that Csergo, who worked in telecommunications infrastructure through his Shanghai-based business, had provided information to two people believed to be working for Beijing’s Ministry of State Security—an assertion denied by his barrister.
The 59-year-old met “Ken” and “Evelyn” in December 2021, and soon after, they began asking him for material on sensitive topics.
A text from Ken sent in May of 2022 said, “I need to do something different.”
Lawyer Tries to Argue Csergo Not in Contact With Real Spies
His defence barrister Iain Todd told the jury that Csergo did not do anything with the list, and tried to cast doubts on the pair’s links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), saying there was no evidence to support this contention.“Is [Ken] actually directed or just on his own mission?” he asked.
Police and Australian security personnel found the list, stuffed into a shelf, creased and full of spelling errors, when they raided his eastern suburbs home in March 2023.
Todd expressed doubt that a Chinese intelligence agency could not spell, and instead suggested it was generated by Ken “going off on a frolic.”
The barrister also tried to argue that what Csergo did provide was plagiarised and useless information copied from publicly available websites.
In exchange, he received envelopes of cash, the barrister said.
The businessman had falsely claimed that some of the information came from highly placed sources, including former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who earlier told the court he had never responded to Csergo’s approaches.
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Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told the court he had never responded to Csergo's approaches. Sam Mooy/Getty Images
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Prosecution Argues Csergo’s Contact List More Valuable
Crown prosecutor Jennifer Single SC said the relationship between Csergo and the two alleged spies, as well as his contacts, were more valuable than his reports.At the time, he was also working with major U.S. tech firm Oracle.
Single said Csergo had provided Ken and Evelyn with reports on topics such as mining, the German government, the AUKUS security agreement, and the Quad partnership.
These were handed over as hard copies or on a USB at face-to-face meetings at cafes or restaurants, which were sometimes otherwise deserted.
Csergo and his contacts also used WeChat, a messaging app popular in China. At one point in their discussions, Ken said that less-sensitive topics like bilateral trade were too boring to discuss. He then told Csergo to “be brave” and find material that could breach national security.
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WeChat app on a smartphone in a photo illustration taken on July 13, 2021. Dado Ruvic/Reuters
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In her closing submissions to the jury, Single said that trust gradually increased between Csergo and his two handlers, shown by cash payments rising from about $1,000 to more than $6,000.
She also argued that if Csergo genuinely feared for his safety he could have approached Australian authorities, but he chose not to because he intended to return to China and continue the relationship.
Three Politically-Connected Arrests in the UK
Meanwhile in Britain, the case of three men—one the husband of a Labour MP and the others former advisers to senior Labour figures—has yet to come to court after their arrest on charges of assisting a foreign intelligence service.David Taylor, 39, is the husband of East Kilbride and Strathaven MP Joani Reid. The other men are Matthew Aplin, 43, and Steve Jones, 68. Taylor is a former adviser to Welsh Labour politicians and was once a candidate to become North Wales’ police and crime commissioner. Jones is a former Welsh Government special adviser, and Aplin is a former Labour press officer.
They have been bailed until a date in May.
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Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons addresses members of parliament on November 21, 2023 in London, England. Photo by Hannah Mckay - WPA Pool/Getty Images
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“Recent cases have shown that foreign state actors still rely on traditional methods to obtain information, including through recruiting of people to form relationships and provide information,” he wrote.
