The head of Australia’s domestic spy agency, Mike Burgess, says at least five regimes are actively targeting foreign born locals to force them to return to their country of origin.
Burgess, the director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, told the story of a man who was subjected to an “unrelenting campaign of intimidation” by an unnamed foreign government, trying to force him to return to face unspecified corruption allegations.
It began with repeated late-night phone calls to his home in Australia, pressing him to travel. At one point, an official visited Australia under the guise of tourism to escort the individual to the foreign country.
“Relatives living overseas were told to encourage the individual to cooperate, and threatened retribution if he didn’t. When he still refused to travel, the regime made good on its threats. Relatives were held in custody, questioned and subjected to travel bans,” Burgess said in his Annual Threat Assessment.
A family member flew to the foreign country to sort out the matter but was detained, interrogated, and told they could only fly home to Australia if they agreed to maintain phone contact with the country’s officials and file reports on the man.
“Sometimes the pressure is applied directly by agents of the foreign government. ASIO recently caught two officers trying to coerce their target at a Victorian fast-food restaurant,” Burgess said.
Often, a country will employ Australian private investigators, lawyers, or other professionals to track down potential victims, monitor their movements, and pass on threatening messages.
Burgess said ASIO is aware of at least five regimes targeting Australians with these tactics.
“One country in particular is extremely active. In 2023 alone, that country coerced at least eight individuals to leave Australia for the place of their birth. Five were Australian citizens or permanent residents. Three never returned.
“We fear that is a fraction of the real number, because the victims are usually too scared to report the coercion. Despite repeated complaints to the government and their officials, ASIO keeps discovering and investigating cases.”
In a recent high-profile case of foreign coercion, bomb threats were made against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in an attempt to force the cancellation of a performance by the Shen Yun Performing Arts company.
AUKUS a Target
Australia’s defence capabilities and AUKUS remain priority targets for foreign intelligence services, Burgess said, adding that was true even of some nations considered friendly to Australia.He told of a spy from a foreign intelligence service who approached an Australian security clearance holder online, pretending to be from a consulting company, and paid for two reports on innocuous topics before asking for one on AUKUS.
The clearance holder became suspicious and reported the contact.
“When my officers interviewed the clearance holder, they gained valuable insights into the foreign service’s information gaps and tradecraft,” he said.
“The person even handed over the money he'd received from the spies for writing the earlier reports. In effect, ASIO disrupted the foreign intelligence service’s operation and made them pay for it.”
ASIO officers used the person’s phone to call the “consultant” in her home country, demonstrating they knew who she was, and demanded she cease targeting Australian citizens.
