China spy status queried in foreign interference trial

An Australian businessman was asked to reveal confidential information to a master’s student who wanted to do something different rather than engage in Chinese espionage, a jury has been told.

Alexander Csergo is on trial by a NSW District Court jury charged with reckless foreign interference after reporting to people believed to be working for China’s Department of State Security.

The 59-year-old man was working on telecommunications infrastructure through his Shanghai-based business.

In December 2021, he met two suspected Chinese spies and was asked for exclusive materials on sensitive matters.

“I need to do something different,” one of the alleged spies, known only as Ken, texted Csergo in May 2022.

Defense lawyer Iain Todd told the jury on Tuesday there was no evidence that Ken or Evelyn, the subordinate who contacted Csergo, were working for Chinese intelligence.

“Is (Ken) really being manipulated or is he just on his own mission?” the lawyer asked.

Ken gave Csergo a “shopping list” of sensitive topics to research in early 2023 before returning to Australia.

This document was found crumpled and tucked away on a shelf riddled with typos when police and local spies raided his eastern suburbs home in March 2023.

Mr Todd expressed surprise that the Chinese intelligence agency could not spell and suggested instead that Ken was just out having fun.

Csergo did nothing about this shopping list, the jury was told.

Mr Todd said he also provided Ken and Evelyn with stolen, useless reports in exchange for envelopes of cash, simply copied from public websites.

“I’m not sure this would be seen as a success by any intelligence service.”

The 59-year-old falsely claimed some of them came from sources including former prime minister Kevin Rudd.

The former Labor leader had previously told the hearing that the accused Chinese entity never responded to his approaches.

Mr Todd said if Ken and Evelyn were really Chinese spies they would have had awkward conversations with their superiors.

Earlier on Tuesday, prosecutor general Jennifer Single SC said the relationship between Csergo and two alleged spies and the contacts he had had were more valuable than his reports.

While he was in communication with them, he was also working with the US technology giant Oracle.

He told federal police he believed U.S. intelligence wanted to use his connection to Oracle to obtain sensitive Chinese telecommunications data.

The jury heard he was contacted by a friend working in the US.

“If you have any concerns and need to get out of China, we can get you out within 24 hours,” Csergo was told.

This was at the height of strict COVID lockdowns, Ms. Single noted.

Working with Ken and Evelyn, Csergo compiled reports on topics such as mining, the German government, the AUKUS security agreement and the Quad partnership.

The jury heard they were sometimes delivered as hard copies or via USB at face-to-face meetings in cafes or restaurants where other people were not present.

In a thread on WeChat, Ken said that less sensitive topics such as bilateral trade were too normal and boring to handle.

He then told Csergo to “be brave” and look for materials that could violate national security.

In her closing submission to the jury, Ms. Single said trust had increased between Csergo and his two handlers, as evidenced by cash payments rising from about $1,000 to more than $6,000.

In police interviews, the Australian said his game was to provide Ken or Evelyn with material that was not real or confidential.

“Just keep it BS,” he told the officers.

The Australian said he was working with the duo because they were under Chinese surveillance.

However, the prosecutor said he could have approached Australian authorities if this had been true, but chose not to do so because he planned to return to China and continue his relationship with them.

The hearing continues on Wednesday.

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