Csergo guilty of foreign interference, becomes first jailed under law
Alexander Csergo became the first person jailed under Australia's foreign interference laws. He sold defence data to Chinese spies.
Alexander Csergo was a Sydney businessman who ran a Shanghai consulting business. Csergo has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.
Csergo sold Australian data to suspected Chinese spies. Csergo met two people known as Ken and Evelyn in Shanghai cafes.
He handed them documents and USB sticks. The data covered Australian mining, politics, security and defence, including the AUKUS deal.
Csergo received envelopes with cash payments of up to $6000 per meeting. A jury found he should have suspected them.
They were working for China's Ministry of State Security. Csergo found them on LinkedIn in 2021.
The arrangement lasted 16 months. With parole and time already served, he could be released next month.
- Up to 6000 dollars
- Cash per meeting
- 16 months
- Arrangement duration
- Three-and-a-half years
- Sentence
- China's Ministry of State Security
- Employment
Why it mattersThis conviction shows Australia will prosecute foreign interference. It reveals how ordinary people can become spies for other nations.
AustraliaThe case is a warning to Australians working internationally: unsolicited requests for sensitive data may be foreign intelligence operations.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 d ago
