Australian jury convicts Sydney business consultant over deals with suspected Chinese spies

A Sydney business consultant has been convicted of breaking Australia’s foreign interference laws by providing reports to two people he should have suspected were Chinese spies. Alexander Csergo’s lawyers argued he used open-source information as research and that he lied to the suspected spies about interviewing individuals including Kevin Rudd, the former prime minister. He was convicted Friday and faces a potential prison term of up to 15 years when he is sentenced. Csergio is only the second person to be convicted under Australian laws against covert interference and espionage that angered China where they were legislated in 2018.