Chinese man charged over alleged $20,000 cash bribe hidden in tea gift to Australian official

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 04:28, 28 July 2026 | Updated: 04:28, 28 July 2026 A Chinese tech company manager is behind bars, accused of attempting to bribe an Australian government official. Guoxin Zhu, 39, allegedly handed the woman a bag of tea during a business meeting at Camp Hill in Brisbane's south on July 9. The woman later found $20,000 inside the bag, which police allege was intended to influence her for business gain. The public official reported the alleged incident to Queensland Police, prompting a joint investigation with the Australian Federal Police and the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Zhu was arrested while trying to board an overseas flight at Sydney International Airport last Friday. Footage released by the AFP showed a handcuffed Zhu being escorted from the terminal by AFP officers and placed in the back of a police paddy wagon as shocked bystanders watched on. He was charged with offering a secret commission to an agent and appeared in a Sydney court on Saturday, where Queensland Police successfully applied for his extradition. Zhu was extradited back to Queensland on Saturday night and appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday, where he applied for bail. Guoxin Zhu, 39, (pictured during his arrest In Sydney last Friday) is accused of attempting to bribe a Commonwealth public official The Chinese national was extradited back to Queensland, where he was refused bail in a Brisbane court on Monday The court heard that Zhu was a Shenzhen-based manager for a solar panel company who travelled to Australia several times a year for meetings with the Clean Energy Council. Zhu's lawyer, Mark Williams, said that his client had no idea he was under investigation until his arrest, the Brisbane Times reported. 'He'd booked a flight, a return flight, back to China because his business dealings had been completed. So why wouldn't he be on that flight?' he told the court. 'He's got no other reason to be here. 'More importantly, the police knew about that, and they knew where they could get him. They knew it would be easy to grab him and place him in custody, and so they let him fly from Victoria to Sydney on the 18th of July.' Williams told the court that his client had vowed to surrender his passport, report to the court as often as necessary, offered a surety via a bank deposit and would not leave Queensland as part of his bail conditions. 'The penalty, in my respectful submission, if convicted, I would have thought would attract a non-custodial outcome,' he added. 'If he's already spent two days in custody, that's probably more time than he would otherwise receive as a penalty in any event.'  Guoxin Zhu allegedly handed the Commonwealth official a bag of tea containing $20,000 during a business meeting in Brisbane on July 9. The Chinese national had been trying to board a flight home when he was arrested at Sydney International Airport last Friday The prosecutor successfully argued that Zhu was a flight risk and should remain in custody. Zhu was refused bail to reappear in court on August 5. Acting National Anti-Corruption Commissioner Kylie Kilgour said the investigation highlighted the organisation's role in protecting the integrity of public administration. 'In this case, the alleged corrupt conduct is an example of someone attempting to influence a Commonwealth public official's honest and impartial performance of their duties and functions. This is a form of corrupt conduct under the NACC Act,' she said. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.