A Sydney businessman accused of foreign interference over a series of reports he wrote for two Chinese nationals did not act in a way that “prejudiced Australia’s national security”, a court has heard.
Alexander Csergo, 56, has spent nearly a year in custody after he was arrested at his Bondi home last April and charged with one count of foreign interference.
The advertising and technology executive is alleged to have written reports on business and politics for two Chinese nationals, known to him as Ken and Evelyn, in exchange for envelopes of cash.
In court yesterday, Csergo formally entered a plea of not guilty to one charge of reckless foreign interference. His barrister, Jolan Draaisma, told Sydney’s Downing Centre court that commonwealth prosecutors would no longer press the element of that charge that his conduct “prejudiced Australia’s national security”. Instead, the commonwealth will allege that Csergo was reckless as to whether his conduct supported intelligence activities or a foreign principal.
The court has previously heard details of Csergo’s case. Stuck in Shanghai during the height of Covid lockdowns in 2021, Csergo was contacted by two Chinese nationals who gave their names as Ken and Evelyn, and said they were from a thinktank. The pair asked Csergo to compile a series of reports – on topics as varied as lithium mining, German politics, and Australia’s military alliance with the US – for which he was paid about 20,000 yuan (A$4,300) each.
Csergo later told Australian police he believed Ken and Evelyn may have been intelligence officers from China’s ministry of state security, and filled his reports with anodyne, open-source information – and in some cases incredible information such as a purported interview with a former Australian prime minister – in order to placate the pair until he could escape China.
As evidence of the approach, Csergo brought home to Australia a list – literally titled “shopping list” – of information sought by Ken and Evelyn, including information on the Five Eyes intelligence alliance and whether Australia’s new Aukus alliance was “preparing for [a] Taiwan war”.
Csergo had been living back in Sydney for more than a month when he was arrested. He had kept the list at home as evidence but had provided none of the information sought, and told police he had never intended to, a court has previously heard.
More than 1,200 pages of written statements, 2,000 emails and 72,000 images form part of the prosecution case, which has been before the courts nearly a year.
Outside court, Draaisma said it was significant the government was no longer pressing the allegation that Csergo’s conduct “prejudiced Australia’s national security”.
“The crown has no evidence to support any allegation that my client has in fact prejudiced Australia’s interests,” she told the ABC outside court.
Draaisma said Csergo was “struggling” in custody.
“He has limited access to his legal representation,” she said. “He has over 1,000 pages in the brief to try to assess and analyse, and it’s very difficult from the cell that he’s in.”
Csergo’s mother, Cathy Csergo, said her son was not a criminal and criticised delays in bringing the case before court. She said he had been isolated from seeing and speaking to his family.
“My son, he’s never been a spy. He is an innocent person,” she said. “He came home to take care of his mother.”
Csergo was committed to stand trial. He will be arraigned on 26 April.
