Australian man charged with foreign interference after allegedly spying

A man has been arrested for allegedly being a spy collecting information about Australian defence, economic and national security arrangements.

An Australian man has been charged with a foreign interference offence by federal police after an investigation from the nation’s top spy agency.

The Australian national, who normally lives and operates a business overseas, recently returned to Australia before he was arrested at a Bondi residence on Friday.

The AFP alleges the man was contacted by an individual, purporting to be from a think tank, via social media while he was offshore and made arrangements for him to meet with their representatives.

He was arrested at a residence in the Sydney suburb of Bondi on Friday, 14 April 2023.

It is alleged that on a number of occasions the man met with two individuals, known to him as “Ken” and “Evelyn”, who offered the man money to obtain information about Australian defence, economic and national security arrangements, plus matters relating to other countries.

He allegedly met with two people known as “Ken” and “Evelyn” who offered the man money to obtain information about Australian defence, economic and national security arrangements, plus matters relating to other countries.

Police say he compiled a number of reports for the individuals and received payment for those reports.

The AFP will allege “Ken” and “Evelyn” work for a foreign intelligence service and are undertaking intelligence collection activities.

He is charged with one count of reckless foreign interference, contrarty to section 92.3 of the Criminal Code Act 1995.

The maximum penalty for this offence is 15 years imprisonment.

It’s believed that more people in Australia have been approached by “Ken” and “Evelyn”.

The AFP urges anyone who has been approached by those individuals to provide information to the National Security Hotline on 1800 123 400.

Espionage and foreign interference pose a serious threat to Australia’s sovereignty, security and integrity of our national institutions, the AFP said.

The arrest was made by the Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce, which combines manpower from ASIO and the AFP.

The man is the second individual to be charged by the taskforce since the National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Bill was passed in 2018.

He will appear before Parramatta Local Court on Saturday.