Hungarian citizen Bence Horvath was arrested on 23 August 2024 when he arrived at San Francisco International Airport in California. At the time, he was believed to be living in Spain.
Three days later, the US Department of Justice announced that he was charged with a count of violating US export controls that targeted Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Horvath was accused of conspiring with others to illegally export radio communication technology of US origin to end users in the Russian government without a licence.
It later emerged that the radios, or some of them, might have been destined for police officers in Moscow.
Daily Maverick has established that South Africa features in a multinational procurement network, linked to Horvath by the US, demonstrating how easily this country can, unwittingly or otherwise, become embroiled in high-level international legal sagas.
Read more: Panel finds no evidence of arms loaded on to Lady R, claims Ramaphosa – but will still keep the full report secret
South Africa previously became the centre of controversy relating to Russia when the Lady R, a sanctioned Russian vessel, docked in Simon’s Town in December 2022. Allegations surfaced that weapons had been loaded on the ship and were destined for Russia, but an investigative panel later found that it had not been the case.
South Africa is now on the periphery of the accusations in the US court case against Horvath, whose mother reportedly also had ties to Moscow via her work.
Multinational procurement network
According to a US Department of Justice press release on 26 August 2024, when the charges against Horvath were made public, he and others were managing the multinational procurement network.
“[The network] 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 US-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,” the press release reads.
Horvath and others allegedly started discussions with a small US radio distribution company in early 2023.
“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. US Customs and Border Protection detained the shipment, preventing the radios from falling into the hands of prohibited Russian end users.”
‘Obfuscated destination’
Horvath tried last month to have the indictment against him dismissed on the grounds that it did not state an offence. The District Court for Columbia denied the motion.
The court’s finding, dated 11 February, outlines some of the case against Horvath. “In some instances, [he] planned multistep shipping routes between the United States and Russia to obfuscate the radios’ ultimate destination,” it reads.
This is where South Africa features among the various countries named.
Hungarian National Arrested on Charges of Conspiring to Export U.S. Military-Grade Radios to Russian Government End Users https://t.co/MmhiFFeXra @HSINewOrleans, @USAO_NDCA, DCIS Southeast Field Office and @CommerceGov Office of Export Enforcement Dallas.
— U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) August 26, 2024
The court’s finding alleges that Horvath emailed a co-conspirator in January 2023, saying his “goods [we]re in Dubai inside [the] Free Trade Zone”. He allegedly wanted to buy those goods for a Serbian company and sell them to a Russian company.
In March 2023, Horvath tried to buy radios and accessories from someone working for a US company. This person insisted US export laws must be complied with or there would be “no radios”. Horvath allegedly admitted that the end users of the radios would be Moscow police officers.
According to the court’s finding, he tried again later to buy radios from a US person and said these would be headed for Spain.
An affidavit by a special agent of the US Department of Homeland Security, dated August 2024 and relating to the case against Horvath, provides more detail about the communication between Horvath and the US person.
It says this person stated to Horvath on 1 April 2023 that the “[p]ower supply, compact mic[rophone] and RSM [remote speaker microphone] will come from Europe. Radios from South Africa. Chargers and batteries from USA.”
Read more: Trump halts all U.S. military aid to Ukraine, White House official says
Later that same day Horvath replied: “Do you think we can try to ship that radios strait [sic] to Moscow? SA does not follow sanctions?” According to the affidavit, the US person did not respond.
It is not clear what became of the radios linked to South Africa, and no one in the country was accused of wrongdoing, but Horvath’s messages to the US person suggest he tried to circumvent US export controls by simply operating via South Africa.
‘Supporting Russia’s war machine’
A few months after Horvath was arrested, the US Department of the Treasury said it was sanctioning 275 individuals and entities. It named him and some of the allegations he faced.
Its announcement, on 30 October 2024, states that those being sanctioned are “involved in supplying Russia with advanced technology and equipment that it desperately needs to support its war machine”.
The US Treasury identifies three entities in relation to Horvath: the Russia-based ZAO Budaphone and Promsvyazradio, and the Serbia-based Ventrade DOO.
Read the full statement: Treasury Takes Aim at Third-Country Sanctions Evaders and Russian Producers Supporting Russia’s Military Industrial Base
It alleges that Horvath had helped with procurement activities involving Budaphone, which it describes as “a contractor for the Russian Ministry of Defense” and a “certified integration center for the assembly and installation of digital radio communications equipment”.
The Treasury states that Budaphone shares an address with Promsvyazradio, “which manufactures printed circuits and radio transmitting equipment”. Ventrade DOO, it says, “has exported military-grade radios to Promsvyazradio”.
The case against Horvath in the US continues. DM
Caryn Dolley’s explosive new book, Man Alone: Mandela’s Top Cop – Exposing South Africa’s Ceaseless Sabotage, is now available in bookstores and at the Daily Maverick Shop.
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
