A man arrested in connection with a scheme to illegally export U.S.-origin radio communications technology to Russian end users without a license pleased guilty in US District Court in Washington June 17.
Bence Horvath, described in the Justice Department announcement as "a Spanish national living in the United Arab Emirates," pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to unlawfully export goods to Russia. At the time of his arrest and indictment in August 2024, Horvath was identified as a Hungarian national. Regardless of his origin, he is now looking at up to 20 years in prison. Sentancing is scheduled for Sept. 30.
Horvath and co-conspirators operated a procurement and transshipment network using front companies in Spain, Serbia, and Hungary to obscure the final destination of sensitive U.S. radios, which were ultimately intended for Russian government end-users.
Horvath aided in procurement activities involving Russia-based ZAO Budaphone Ltd , a contractor for the Russian Ministry of Defense and certified integration center for the assembly and installation of digital radio communications equipment.
Budaphone shares an address with Russia-based Promsvyazradio, which manufactures printed circuits and radio transmitting equipment. Promsvyazradio has also imported high-priority dual-use technology into Russia. Serbia-based Ventrade DOO has exported military-grade radios to Promsvyazradio.
In October 2024, Budaphone and Promsvyazradio were designated by OFAC for operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy, while Ventrade DOO was designated for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Promsvyazradio.
According to court documents, beginning at least around January 2023, Horvath and others 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.
From January to May 2023, Horvath coordinated multiple transactions with a U.S. radio distributor (“U.S. Person 1”) to acquire controlled radio equipment manufactured by an American company. These items, classified under ECCN 5A992.c for anti-terrorism controls, require U.S. Department of Commerce export licenses for shipment to Russia—a requirement that Horvath and his co-conspirators allegedly bypassed.
In one instance, Horvath admitted via email that the radios were destined for the Moscow Police and suggested circumventing restrictions by routing the shipment through Latvia and South Africa. A $97,664 order was ultimately intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at Miami International Airport in May 2023. The shipment was formally seized in June.
The investigation also uncovered procurement documents and communications related to radio infrastructure development in Kursk, near the Russia–Ukraine border.
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.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Tortorice and Maeghan Mikorski for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Sean Heiden of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
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