Sydney Businessman Alexander Csergo Sentenced to Prison for Reckless Foreign Interference

Sydney businessman Alexander Csergo has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for reckless foreign interference, but will be eligible for parole as early as next month due to the time he has already spent in custody.

The long-running case about reports Csergo compiled for two suspected Chinese spies while he was working in Shanghai represents the first time an Australian has been sentenced for the charge.

Background of the Case

A District Court jury found the 58-year-old guilty in March, after hearing weeks of evidence about Csergo's communication and meetings with two people he knew as "Ken" and "Evelyn" between 2021 and 2023, when he returned to Sydney.

Csergo prepared reports, upon request and in return for payment, about topics including lithium mining, the change in the German government, defence, the Quad alliance and AUKUS.

The prosecution told jurors he believed they worked for a Chinese intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), and was reckless as to whether his conduct would support foreign intelligence activities.

But Csergo's lawyers argued he handed over worthless information from open-source material along with fictitious interviews, and there was no evidence he ever revealed any national security secrets.

Csergo's Sentence and Parole Eligibility

Judge Craig Smith found that the offending effectively took place between May or June 2022 and December 2022.

He said Csergo's subjective awareness of his situation shifted around May 2022, when he was asked to prepare a defence report that was "materially different" from his previous work.

In WeChat messages to Csergo, specific topics of interest were identified, including "China spy", "anything about China in ASIO", and strategy, targets, tactics, methods and technology.

Csergo warned Ken that they needed to be "careful" and said, "we don't want to find ourselves being questioned by any governments".

He also said that one of his contacts had "strongly warned" him against what Ken had requested.

Judge's Assessment and Sentence

The judge found beyond reasonable doubt that Csergo was relevantly reckless from May or June 2022 and part of his conduct was deceptive, satisfying all four elements of the charge.

He said there was "clearly a persistence in his conduct" as he "extensively researched, downloaded and prepared materials", and that there was a level of deception to the conduct.

Judge Smith said he did not consider Csergo's conduct to have been "overly sophisticated in the criminal sense", but there was a "degree of sophistication".

He handed Csergo a backdated sentence of three years and six months, with a non-parole period of one year and ten months.

"The substantial effect of the sentence … is you would be eligible for consideration for release to parole on 24 October 2026," the judge told Csergo, who appeared on a video link in the Downing Centre.

The judge took into account that Csergo had spent more than 600 days in custody prior to sentence, including a period between when he was arrested and then granted bail, and when he was taken into custody shortly after the jury's verdict.

Reaction from Csergo's Family

Csergo's mother was seen entering the court the morning of the sentencing.

Outside court, Csergo's brother, Steve Csergo, said the judge was working within the legislation in place.

But he was worried that the case may set a precedent for others.

"My concern is for the future of all Australians and our freedoms," he said.

"And what's going to be next? My concern is, will you be arrested for doing a report from open-source information from the state library next?"

Csergo's mother, Cathy Csergo, welcomed the judge's assessment that he was a decent man.

"Of course he is. He was a good boy from the start," she said.

"All his life, he's been working. Even going to the university, he was still working to pay the fees off himself."

She said she was relieved that he may be out of custody in six weeks on parole.

"I feel very relieved, because I'm alone in the house. I have a lot of problems in the house," she said.

"I hope my son comes home, even after six weeks … still I want him at home."