A 46-year-old Hungarian citizen, Bence Horvath, has been arrested in the United States on suspicion of illegally exporting military equipment from the U.S. to Russia, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Department of Justice stated that Horvath is suspected of conspiring to supply around 200 units of U.S. military-grade radio communication equipment to end users in Russia.
Investigators allege that Horvath and his accomplices organized a multinational procurement network that secured contracts with various Russian government organizations. This network was involved in large-scale projects, such as building radio communication systems in the Kursk region of Russia, near the Russian-Ukrainian border.
The accused allegedly attempted to acquire military-grade radio stations for Russian organizations using a multinational procurement chain to bypass law enforcement.
Horvath is said to have orchestrated a scheme to procure U.S. radio communication technology and smuggle it to the Russian government through a network of affiliates in Spain, Serbia, Hungary, Latvia, and other countries.
Horvath was arrested on August 23 when he arrived at San Francisco International Airport. His arrest and the charges against him were announced on August 26 by U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves. If convicted of violating export controls, Horvath faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to one million U.S. dollars.
