'Not publicly visible': Most of AFP's espionage investigations kept hidden

Espionage and foreign interference represent "one of the most complex and evolving threats" to Australia's national security, but only two people have been sentenced in the past eight years.Members of Australia's Counter Foreign Interference (CFI) Taskforce prefer to work in the shadows.Last week, a dual Russian Australian citizen was arrested and charged with attempting to engage in foreign interference after allegedly seeking to share information about Ukrainian military activities to officials he thought were from Russia.Vladimir Teslov, 27, faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years if found guilty.Vladimir Teslov was arrested in Brisbane last week. (Supplied: AFP)However he would only be the third person found guilty of foreign interference crimes since new laws came into effect in 2018.That's despite ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess saying "espionage and foreign interference are at extreme levels" in Australia.A spokesperson for the Australian Federal Police said it has charged eight individuals with offences relating to espionage and foreign interference (EFI) since the new laws were introduced.It said of those eight, two have been found guilty and a further six remain before the courts.Two of those people are Kira and Igor Korolev, who were arrested for allegedly attempting to gather and send state secrets to Russia in 2024.The married couple are charged with conspiracy to commit espionage. If found guilty, they would become the first specific espionage conviction in Australia since 2018.At ASIO's Annual Threat Assessment in June, Mr Burgess said these crimes are on the rise because a global power competition is driving an "insatiable appetite for strategic advantage".He added Australia's security environment has degraded because of it.Last week after Mr Teslov's arrest, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said: "Foreign interference is an insidious crime and has a bigger impact on Australia than many people realise."ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said Australia's security environment has degraded because of foreign interference. (AAP: Mick Tsikas)Dr John Coyne, the director of Australian Strategic Policy Institute's National Security Program, said the reason there are so few public cases for these crimes is because intelligence agencies prefer to deal with things out of the public eye."Quite often the aim isn't necessarily to prosecute people," he said."The aim is to stop the loss of information and protect our national security.""There would be numerous efforts going on to undertake espionage in Australia right now, by a number of different countries," Dr Coyne said."The general public needs to be aware of that."Igor Korolev was arrested, as was his wife, in 2024. (Supplied: AFP)In June, Mr Burgess said defending Australia from espionage and foreign interference "will always be a priority for ASIO".When asked how it prefers to deal with individuals suspected of committing these crimes, ASIO did not directly answer.Its counterpart in the CFI Taskforce, the AFP, said it has "undertaken a number of investigations into EFI threats"."While some of these activities have attracted media interest, most of our actions to mitigate threats are not publicly visible," the statement added.In the espionage world it is well known investigations into such matters are kept private.Dr Coyne said this is "the great game of espionage".Dr John Coyne said intelligence agencies prefer to keep this cases out of the public eye. (Supplied: ASPI)"What they [intelligence agencies] prefer to do … is not to actually arrest people and throw them in jail," he said."For the most part, it's detecting those foreign actors, those people who are propagating espionage networks, and sending them home."You don't want to be advertising how successful a foreign intelligence service has been in its penetration of your organisation."Crimes attack Australia's democracyA Department of Home Affairs spokesperson told the ABC "foreign interference and espionage threaten the things we value most about our country".They said it threatens social cohesion, democracy and even freedom of thought and expression.A spokesperson for the AFP said "most of our actions to mitigate threats are not publicly visible". (Supplied)Espionage can result in the loss of revenue, trade secrets, reputation, sovereignty and can give other nations a war-fighting advantage, according to ASIO.The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) said espionage cost the Australian economy $12.5 billion in the 2023-24 financial year.Dr Sarah Kendall is an interdisciplinary scholar with expertise in the criminal law response to espionage, foreign interference and sabotage.She said: "There is actually quite a big difference between espionage and foreign interference.""The espionage offences are really looking at dealing with information. That really classic thought of someone comes in and steals information that's secret," she said."Whereas foreign interference is all about influence and so you don't necessarily need to steal information or deal with it in a particular way, but it's all about influencing someone to do something."She said the new foreign interference and refreshed espionage laws introduced in 2018 filled a "clear gap", but they are too broad."The offence scheme as a whole is just a mess," she said.In July, a major review of the laws conducted by Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM) Jake Blight was tabled to parliament.The national security watchdog called on the government to reform the espionage and foreign interference laws because he felt they could undermine the democracy they are meant to protect."Some of the espionage and foreign interference offences were overly broad and ill-defined," Mr Blight told the ABC in July."Strong laws are necessary, but they also need to be consistent with the democratic rights that we have those laws to protect."The report made 20 recommendations aimed at making the laws more effective and proportionate.Jake Blight has raised concerns about the espionage and foreign interference laws. (Supplied: Independent National Security Legislation Monitor)"The Australian Government has criminal offences and a robust legal framework in place to protect our democracy from acts of foreign interference and strengthen our resilience," a Home Affairs spokesperson said."These legislative measures support the security and law enforcement agencies to deter, discover and disrupt acts of foreign interference."Everyday Australians should be awareThere are several reasons Australia chooses to not prosecute people with espionage and foreign interference charges.But Dr Kendall said "sometimes it's not possible to say exactly why suspected espionage cases are not pursued".She said there most definitely had been a surge of these crimes and that should warrant strong public interest."It requires every Australian to be aware of what the threat can look like and ensure they do not hand over information sought by foreign actors," she said.ASIO and the Department of Home Affairs ask all Australians to be vigilant when it comes to foreign interference. (ABC News: Gavin Coote)The Department of Home Affairs said the government, business industry and the community can all help "strengthen resilience to foreign interference"."Reports of foreign interference activity can be made to the National Security Hotline," the spokesperson said.Those reports can be made anonymously.Mr Burgess also asked Australians to be vigilant and made the point that "ASIO is not all seeing and all knowing"."We cannot catch every spy, but we continue to work around the clock to keep Australians safe."