Australian Federal Police counters intelligence activity
The Australian Federal Police has moved to arrest and freeze bank accounts of those believed to be linked to foreign agents in the past three months while a dedicated team has been launched to catch spies.
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Police have raided several properties in relation to suspected foreign spies in the past three months.
The Australian Federal Police has also moved to freeze bank accounts believed to be linked to foreign agents in that time.
The Sunday Herald Sun can also reveal a specialist unit set up at the AFP’s Canberra headquarters has been up and running for the past three weeks. A dedicated team to counter foreign interference was launched on January 15 to build on the force’s ability to catch foreign spies.
The AFP declined to say exactly how many raids had been carried out against suspected foreign spies in the past three months, due to operational reasons.
It comes after the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation warned the scale of foreign intelligence activity against Australian interests is now at “unprecedented” levels. ASIO and the AFP are battling attempts from agents of several foreign governments to spy in Australia but the main country of concern to security services is China.
Last week the Sunday Herald Sun revealed ASIO was investigating a sharp rise in suspicious approaches made to Australians in sensitive jobs by foreign agents on social media websites such as LinkedIn.
The AFP’s specialist spy-catching unit is expected to carry out more raids against suspected foreign agents in coming months.
“The objectives of this team are to work with the partners at the international, national and local level, in particular the Australian intelligence community, to identify, deter, disrupt and prosecute espionage and foreign interference, while increasing the cost and risk to those who undertake criminal activity against Australian interests,” an AFP spokesman said.
“ASIO has publicly and privately made comments on the continued and increasing threat of foreign interference they have seen occurring in Australia. The AFP has recognised the need to dedicate and prioritise resources to countering foreign interference in line with the new legislation and the threat.”
The new unit is expected to use a range of tactics against foreign spies, including arrest and prosecution, deportation and seizure of assets.
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Australia’s foreign interference laws were significantly tightened in 2018. Sabotage offences were overhauled and new offences relating to foreign interference in Australian institutions were created.
A register of foreign political agents was also created and espionage offences updated. The security services are concerned foreign agents are using social media to try to recruit Australians to spy for them.
Government employees with access to decision-makers, such as state and federal ministers, are of particular interest to foreign intelligence agencies, as are those in the defence industry and research institutions. Those who work in jobs that give them direct access to classified national security information are the top targets.