Australian businessman Chergo sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison for reckless foreign interference

An Australian businessman who once worked in China was accused of spying for China. He was convicted by Australia of "reckless foreign interference" and was sentenced to three years and six months in prison on the 10th. The intelligence he collected involved the "Australia-UK-US Security Partnership" (AUKUS) nuclear-powered submarine agreement, as well as information related to the "Quadrilateral Security Dialogue" (Quad) alliance between the United States, Japan, Australia and India.

Agence France-Presse and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that the Sydney District Court sentenced the 58-year-old Australian man Alexander Csergo to three years and six months in prison on the 10th. Chergo is the first person to be sentenced for "reckless foreign interference" since Australia implemented its foreign interference law in 2018, which criminalizes assisting foreign countries to interfere in Australia's sovereignty or national interests.

Mike Burgess, director of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), responded to the verdict and said, "Foreign interference is a violation of Australia's sovereignty." "In this case, the spies wanted the Australian to target the Australian intelligence community, the Prime Minister's Office, defence, the judiciary and think tanks."

According to information revealed during the trial, while in Shanghai, Cergo contacted two people who called themselves "Ken" and "Evelyn" through social platforms. Prosecutors suspected that the two men were Chinese intelligence agents and that their contact with Cergo lasted from 2021 to 2023. Cergo was arrested shortly after returning to Sydney from Shanghai in 2023. At that time, he was carrying a "list" of information he was asked to collect.

He was accused of accepting cash from Chinese intelligence officers and writing reports for China, covering the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement, the Quad alliance between the United States, Japan, Australia and India, and critical minerals. He was convicted of "reckless foreign interference" in March this year.

Chergo's lawyers argued that what he handed over to the other party was information available from public sources and fabricated interviews, and there was no evidence that he disclosed any national security secrets. However, the judge pointed out that the other party had used the Chinese "WeChat" messaging software to give Cergo instructions to collect specific topics, such as "Chinese spies," "any ASIO matters related to China," as well as strategies, techniques, goals, etc. Cergo also warned "Ken" to be "careful" and "we don't want to be questioned by any government."

The judge believed that Chergo's "behavior was obviously continuous" because he "extensively researched, downloaded and prepared information" and his behavior was deceptive to a certain extent, meeting the four major elements of the crime of reckless foreign intervention. Considering that he was previously detained for more than 600 days, he will be eligible for parole starting next month.