The U.S. Department of Justice has unsealed a criminal complaint against Bence Horvath, a Hungarian national, for allegedly violating U.S. export controls aimed at Russia. Horvath is accused of conspiring to illegally export U.S.-origin radio communications technology to Russian government entities without a required license. The charges include one count of conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA). He was apprehended on August 23 at San Francisco International Airport.
According to the complaint, Horvath was involved in managing a multinational procurement network that sought to acquire and smuggle military-grade radios and related accessories to Russia. The network allegedly contracted with Russian government entities and focused on projects such as building operational radio communications systems along the Russian-Ukrainian border. Horvath is accused of attempting to purchase 200 military-grade radios from a small U.S. company and intended to ship them to Russia via Latvia, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted the shipment.
The investigation, conducted by Homeland Security Investigation, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Department of Commerce, underscores the U.S. government’s commitment to disrupting illicit global procurement networks. Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen and other officials emphasized the importance of holding accountable those who undermine U.S. national security by violating export controls.
This case was coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force and Task Force KleptoCapture, which focus on preventing critical technology from reaching hostile nations and enforcing sanctions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It’s important to note that a complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.