Alexander Csergo is accused of foreign interference. His lawyer said the businessman prepared consulting reports in China using open-source information.
A Bondi businessman accused of foreign interference met with two people suspected of being Chinese spies at cafes in Shanghai and was given envelopes of cash to prepare reports on matters including iron ore, lithium and the AUKUS security arrangement, a court has heard.
On Monday, Csergo applied for bail in Downing Centre Local Court but was refused by Magistrate Michael Barko, who said there was a strong prosecution case and Csergo was a flight risk due to his extremely strong ties to China. He earlier asked why Ken and Evelyn could not have prepared the information themselves. “The layperson would say, rhetorically, it stinks.”
“This document was discovered by ASIO three weeks after he arrived in Australia,” McCraith said. “For two years he had been in communication with people he suspected of being spies.” The defence barrister said prosecutors seemed to suggest there was something sinister about his client interacting with Ken and Evelyn, who were two or three individuals out of “hundreds” he was in contact with.
Collaery said his client is “a senior, successful Australian businessman in China” but “that has all come tumbling down in the last few weeks.”
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Australian businessman who lived in China faces court charged with foreign interference55-year-old businessman, Alexander Csergo has been arrested following allegations of selling Australian Defence information while on a trip to China. 9News
Read more »
Sydney man faces court after foreign interference chargeAlexander Csergo, 55, was arrested at his Bondi home after the AFP alleged he compiled a number of reports for foreign spies and was paid accordingly.
Read more »
Fear an ‘American lurch’ towards China could further strain relationsANU Political Scientist Dr Charles Miller says European countries are fearing an “American lurch” towards China which could further strain relations between the nations. “I think that the Europeans along with some people in Australia, as we can see from what Paul Keating was saying a few weeks ago, are worried about what they think might be an American lurch towards China,” he told Sky News Australia. “The circumstances we are talking about after all would be a Chinese invasion of Taiwan – that would be a Chinese lurch. “But nonetheless this is a concern that is shared among a good number of people amongst America’s allies.”
Read more »
Fears of China 'unfounded', WA premier says ahead of his first post-COVID visitMark McGowan will land in China for a five-day trade mission, which he says is about strengthening WA's relationship with its largest trading partner.
Read more »
WA Premier Mark McGowan travels to China for five day visitWestern Australia Premier Mark McGowan is en route to China for his first trip to the nation in four years. The five-day visit will include the Annual WA-China Strategic Dialogue where up to 30 key business leaders will discuss opportunities for investment and trade. The trip will also aim to boost the state's number of Chinese university students after the Premier announced a $13 million funding package to attract more international students to the state.
Read more »
How one man went from China’s Communist party golden child to enemy of the stateExperts say Xu Zhiyong’s fate symbolises the rise and fall of China’s ill-fated rights movement
Read more »