A Sydney businessman has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for reckless foreign interference after a jury found he knowingly assisted people he believed were linked to Chinese intelligence.
Alexander Csergo, 58, received the sentence in the NSW District Court on Thursday. The term was backdated to account for time already spent in custody, meaning he will be eligible to be considered for parole on 24 October 2026.
The case is significant because Csergo is the first person in Australia to be sentenced for reckless foreign interference, an offence introduced as part of national security reforms aimed at countering covert activity by foreign states.
Reports prepared after LinkedIn approach
The court heard Csergo was living and working in Shanghai when he was contacted through LinkedIn in late 2021 by a woman offering consultancy work. He later communicated and met with two people he knew as “Ken” and “Evelyn”. Prosecutors alleged the pair were connected to China’s Ministry of State Security.
Between about May or June and December 2022, Csergo researched and prepared reports on subjects including lithium mining, German politics, defence, the Quad security partnership and the AUKUS agreement. He received payments for the work, including cash delivered in envelopes during meetings at restaurants and cafes.
The material was largely compiled from publicly available sources. Some reports also contained fabricated interviews, including a false claim that Csergo had interviewed former prime minister Kevin Rudd. The prosecution’s case did not depend on classified secrets being passed. Instead, it focused on Csergo’s awareness of who he was assisting and whether his conduct could support foreign intelligence activity.
Judge finds persistent and deceptive conduct
Judge Craig Smith found Csergo’s awareness changed when he was asked to prepare a defence-related report that was materially different from his earlier consultancy work. Messages referred to topics such as China, ASIO, strategy, tactics, methods and technology. Csergo also warned that care was needed to avoid being questioned by governments.
The judge said the conduct was not overly sophisticated in a criminal sense, but involved persistence, extensive research and a degree of deception. A jury convicted Csergo in March after a lengthy trial.
Csergo returned to Australia in early 2023 carrying a “shopping list” of subjects in which Ken and Evelyn were interested. However, Judge Smith found there was no evidence he acted on that list after returning home.
Time in custody shapes sentence
The court imposed a non-parole period of one year and 10 months as part of the three-and-a-half-year sentence. More than 600 days Csergo had already spent in custody were taken into account.
Judge Smith accepted that Csergo had no prior criminal history and had previously been of good character. The court also considered evidence that imprisonment had been unusually difficult and isolating for him, aggravating existing mental health problems. Those issues, including anxiety during COVID-era lockdowns, were found to have contributed to his vulnerability when the LinkedIn approach was made.
Outside court, members of Csergo’s family expressed relief that he could be released on parole as early as next month. His brother also raised concerns about how the case could affect Australians who research and prepare reports using open-source information.
Deterrence at the centre of landmark case
The sentencing draws a distinction between ordinary research and knowingly helping suspected foreign intelligence operatives. Although the information Csergo supplied was assessed as having little value, the prosecution argued that the ongoing relationship itself was useful to his contacts.
Judge Smith said the sentence needed to deter others from being drawn into conduct that could compromise Australia’s national security. Csergo’s eligibility date does not guarantee release; it allows parole authorities to consider whether he should serve the remainder of his sentence in the community under supervision.
