Chinese billionaire named by senator in parliament as suspected ‘puppeteer’ in foreign interference plot

Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching uses parliamentary privilege to suggest Chau Chak Wing was involved in the foiled plot to bankroll ALP election candidates.

Chau Chak Wing was named during senate estimates.

A billionaire and political donor has been named in a parliamentary hearing as the suspected “puppeteer” involved in a foreign interference plot to bankroll candidates in the federal election.

Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching on Monday night quizzed the boss of Australia’s spy agency Mike Burgess about the foiled plot, which was first revealed last week in his annual threat assessment.

“I am reliably informed that the puppeteer mentioned in your case study in your annual threat assessment speech last week is Chau Chak Wing,” Senator Kitching said, using parliamentary privilege.

“I believe it to be Chau Chak Wing.

“Are you able to confirm it is Chau Chak Wing?”

Mr Burgess, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) director-general, then refused to answer her question.

Chau Chak Wing sued the ABC and Nine for defamation over a Four Corners episode.

“Senator as I’ve said before, I will not comment on speculation of who is and who isn’t targets in general or in specifically,” he said.

“I think it is unfair you ask me that question in public.”

Mr Burgess last week revealed there had been a sophisticated attempt by a spy ring to rig an election in Australia.

He said it involved a wealthy individual who he dubbed the “puppeteer”.

He would not reveal the jurisdiction or election involved, or the foreign interest behind the plot.

But he said the network sought to get candidates in positions of power before it was shut down.

“I can confirm that ASIO ­recently detected and disrupted a foreign interference plot in the lead-up to an election in Australia,” he said in his speech.

Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching used parliamentary privilege.

“This case involved a wealthy individual who maintained direct and deep connections with a foreign government and its intelligence agencies.

“This agent of interference has roots in Australia but did the bidding of offshore masters, knowingly and covertly seeking to advance the interests of the foreign power and, in the process, undermine Australia’s sovereignty.

“I’ll call this person ‘the puppeteer’, although it’s important to remember that while the puppeteer pulled the strings, the foreign government called the shots.”

It was later reported the case Mr Burgess was talking about involved Chinese spies trying to bankroll the campaigns of NSW Labor candidates in the upcoming federal election.

Dr Chau is a Chinese-Australian philanthropist and political donor who was last year awarded $590,000 in a defamation case against the ABC and Nine over a Four Corners episode in 2017.

The program, titled “Power and Influence”, investigated Chinese interference in Australian politics.

Dr Chau successfully argued in court the program falsely painted him as a corrupt Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spy who paid a bribe to a UN official.

ASIO director-general Mike Burgess refused to answer the question. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Four years ago Liberal MP Andrew Hastie used parliamentary privilege to identify Dr Chau as an alleged co-conspirator in the bribery case in the US.

The bombshell claims came after AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw separately told the hearing about a “number” of foreign interference activities in the last 18 months mainly targeting democratic institutions.

He also said challenges in the “cyber domain” were ever present.

“(That) includes hostile foreign actors undertaking cyber-enabled espionage,” he said.

Mr Kershaw described foreign interference as an “insidious” and “resource-intensive” crime.

“One that I expect will continue to grow and converge with other crime types in Australia,” he said.

He also raised concerns about the “prevalence” of disinformation in the lead up to this year’s federal election.

“Where disinformation reaches a criminal threshold – particularly where it urges or advocates violence – the AFP will be exercising the full force of its powers,” he said.