Spanish national pleads guilty to conspiring to export military radios to Russia
A Spanish national has pled guilty in US District Court to conspiring to illegally export US-origin military-grade radio communications technology to Russian end users without a licence, the Department of Justice announced.
Bence Horvath, 47, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to unlawfully export goods to Russia. He was arrested on arrival at San Francisco airport on 23 August 2024.
Beginning around January 2023, Horvath and others initiated discussions with a small US radio distribution company about procuring, and exporting to Russia, US-manufactured military-grade radios and related accessories, according to court documents.
Horvath and his co-conspirators 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 Russo-Ukrainian border. The complaint alleges that Horvath himself arranged to purchase US-origin radio communications technology and smuggle it to Russian government end users through a network of affiliates located in Spain, Serbia, Hungary, Latvia and elsewhere.
As part of the conspiracy, Horvath purchased 200 military-grade radios and intended to export them to Russia. However, US Customs and Border Protection detained the shipment, preventing the radios from falling into the hands of prohibited Russian end users.
Horvath, whose sentencing is set for 30 September, could not be reached for comment.
