Hungarian National Arrested on Charges of Conspiring to Export U.S. Military-Grade Radios to Russian Government End Users

            WASHINGTON – Bence Horvath, 46, of Spain, was arrested in San Francisco, California on charges, unsealed today, that he conspired with others to illegally export U.S.-origin radio communications technology to Russian government end users without a license.

            The arrest and charges were announced today by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew Olsen, Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Darrin K. Jones of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southeast Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Trey McClish of the Department of Commerce Office of Export Enforcement (DOC) Dallas Field Office.

            Horvath was arrested on arrival at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California on August 23, 2024. He is charged by complaint with one count of conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (“ECRA”). According to the complaint, Horvath and others managed a multinational procurement network that contracted directly with various entities in the Russian government and worked on large scale projects such as the construction of operational radio communications systems in Russia’s Kursk region along the Russian/Ukrainian border. The complaint alleges that Horvath himself arranged to purchase U.S.-origin radio communications technology and smuggle such technology to Russian government end-users through a network of affiliates located in Spain, Serbia, Hungary, Latvia, and elsewhere.

            “This defendant allegedly sought to skirt U.S. export controls put in place to protect our national security and to address Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “We will continue to work with our partners to bring to justice those who scheme to secure U.S. technology in violation of U.S. laws.”

            “As alleged, the defendant attempted to purchase military-grade radios for Russian entities using a multinational procurement chain to evade law enforcement,” said Assistant Attorney General Olsen. “The Justice Department remains committed to disrupting and holding accountable criminal networks that continue to fuel Russian aggression abroad and threaten our collective security.”

            “HSI protects national security by defending our U.S. import and export laws,” said Special Agent in Charge DeLaune. “This criminal thought he could exploit our laws for nefarious purposes, but thanks to HSI special agents and our partners at the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, he was stopped in his tracks.”

            “Securing DoD technology and innovation from foreign adversaries is critical to U.S. national security,” said Special Agent in Charge Jones. “DCIS and our partners remain committed to protecting American-made military and dual-use technologies by using every tool at our disposal, and we’ll never rest in our pursuit of those who intend to harm the United States and our allies.”

            “Targeting illicit global procurement networks that operate in the shadows to equip the Russian government is of the highest priority to BIS,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod.  “As Horvath’s arrest demonstrates, it doesn’t matter where in the world you operate – when the United States believes your conduct violates our export laws, we take action.”    

            According to the complaint, beginning at least around January 2023, Horvath and others in his network initiated discussions with a small U.S. radio distribution company about procuring and exporting to Russia U.S.-manufactured military-grade radios and related accessories. Over the next several months, Horvath continued his efforts to secure those items, which he intended to transship to Russia via a freight forwarder in Latvia.

            As part of the conspiracy, Horvath purchased 200 of the military-grade radios and intended to export them to Russia. But he was not successful, as U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained the shipment, preventing the radios from falling into the hands of prohibited Russian end users.

            This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigation’s New Orleans, Louisiana Field Office, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Department of Commerce. Assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Tortorice and Maeghan Mikorski of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Sean Heiden of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Kate Abrey and Jorge Casillas, of the USAO-DC.

            Today’s actions were coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture and the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force. Task Force KleptoCapture is an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with its allies and partners, in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation states.

            A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.