Convicted CCP Figure Jailed for 12 Months for Attempting to Influence Minister

Victorian businessman Di Sanh Duong is the first person to be charged and sentenced under Australia’s foreign interference laws.

Di Sanh Duong arrives at the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia on Feb. 29, 2024. AAP Image/Con Chronis

Following revelations from Australia’s domestic spy agency that a retired federal politician was actively spying for a foreign power, a County Court in Victoria has handed down a one-year sentence to the first person convicted of committing an act of foreign interference.

Vietnamese-born businessman Di Sanh Duong, 68, was found guilty by a jury of preparing for, or planning, an act of foreign interference on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) following a month-long trial in the County Court at the end of 2023.