George Sadil

{{unreliable sources|date=December 2014}}

{{BLP sources|date=December 2010}}

George Sadil (born circa 1936-37) is a former Russian analyst and translator who worked with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) for nearly 25 years including during the height of the Cold War. After it had been revealed the ASIO had been compromised by a Russian KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti) 'mole', investigations were held and after internal audits conducted by both ASIO (Jabaroo) and the Australian Federal Police (Operation Liver), Sadil was accused of being the mole.[http://pipl.com/directory/people/George/Sadil pipll.com] After raids on the homes of many of their analysts and translators, the authorities found highly classified documents in Sadil's home, he was then charged with possessing classified federal documents under the Crimes Act 1914. In 1994 the case against him collapsed. Sadil's profile did not match that of the mole in question, and prosecutors were unable to establish any kind of money trail between Sadil and the KGB.{{cite news |last=Hardaker |first=David |date=1 November 2004 |title=ASIO targeted as back door to US intelligence |url=http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2004/s1232375.htm |website=PM, Radio National, Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=26 October 2016}}

Sadil had worked for ASIO since 1968.{{cite news |last=Murphy |first=Katharine |date=26 October 2016 |title=Asio finally admits it was infiltrated by Soviet spies in the 70s and 80s |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/26/asio-finally-admits-it-was-infiltrated-by-soviet-spies-in-the-70s-and-80s |newspaper=The Guardian Australia |access-date=26 October 2016}}

Former KGB general Oleg Kalugin said Australian authorities never discovered the identity of the Canberra-based spy, who was paid thousands of dollars. Kalugin said Moscow used the information to penetrate deep into MI5, MI6, the CIA, and the FBI.{{cite news |last=Harrison |first=Red |date=26 October 2016 |title=Australia spy 'leaked US secrets' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3971541.stm |website=BBC News |access-date=26 October 2016}}

In 2023, the mole was identified as Ian George Peacock.{{Cite news |date=2023-06-19 |title=Read the original story: The mole embedded in Australia's spy agency |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-19/russia-spy-mole-in-asio-sold-cold-war-intelligence-four-corners/102469652 |access-date=2025-05-02 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}