Smiles for businessman charged with foreign interference

A Sydney businessman fighting allegations he supplied national security secrets to Chinese spies was all smiles as he left court for the first time after being granted release on bail in June following more than a year behind bars.

Alexander Csergo, 56, appeared before Downing Centre District Court on Monday after pleading not guilty to a single charge of reckless foreign interference following his arrest after returning home from overseas last year.

The AFP allege Mr Csergo, a Bondi-born marketing expert, was recruited while living in Shanghai to collect information about Australia’s interests after a person purporting to be from a think tank contacted him on social media.

Leaving the court that morning following his first appearance since being granted bail, Mr Csergo said he had “no comment today” as he awaits trial, and when asked if he was relieved about his release said it was “necessary”.

Ms Csergo’s matter was mentioned only briefly before Judge Mark Williams when a date was set for an application to be heard about non-publication orders or pseudonyms to be used during the Bondi man’s upcoming trial.

The court was also told the application, filed by the representative of the Commissioner of the AFP, was amended to include assurances the future jury will be able to handle sensitive material involved in the case.

Mr Csergo was arrested in April 2023 after returning to Australia and spent 14 months in custody on remand before being granted bail in June. He was the second person arrested under Australia’s new foreign interference laws.

The court was previously told police allege Mr Csergo met with two people known as “Ken” and “Evelyn”, who offered him money to obtain information about Australia’s defence, economic, and national security arrangements.

Ms Csergo’s solicitor, Bernard Collaery, earlier said he denied the allegations and argued that all of the material he provided was publicly-available and “open source”, and that the only offence he was guilty of was “plagiarism”.

If found guilty and convicted of the offence, Mr Csergo could spend up to 15 years in prison. He is expected to return before the court next month for the application, with the trial not set to begin until sometime next year.