An Australian man has been refused bail after being charged with a foreign interference offense for accepting cash from suspected Chinese intelligence agents, with a Sydney court saying his close ties to China made him a flight risk.
Magistrate Michael Barko said Alexander Csergo was a “sophisticated, worldly businessperson” who had been on the radar of Australian intelligence for some time before his arrest on Friday.
The pair, named in court only as “Ken” and “Evelyn,” first made contact with Csergo through LinkedIn. Csergo appeared in court via video link from Parklea Prison where he is being held as a high security prisoner. His mother and brother were in court. Csergo had exchanged around 3,300 WeChat messages with the pair, and had accepted cash payments in envelopes, Barko said.
Prosecutor Conor McCraith disputed this, saying it was not all open source because he had engaged covertly with two others to prepare reports. He also said Csergo had not come to Australian authorities with his concerns about Ken and Evelyn, and had instead invited Ken to come to Australia. Csergo had worked in China since 2002 in data marketing, including for a major international advertising agency.
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