U.S. Charges Tech CEO Russian Over Hidden Ownership

US prosecutors have charged Lee Reiber, chief executive of digital forensics firm Oxygen Forensics, and Russian national Oleg Davydov with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They allege the company concealed its Russian ownership and Russia-based software development while selling forensic tools to US government agencies.

According to the complaint, Oxygen presented itself to government customers as an independent American company, when Davydov and four other Russian nationals owned and controlled it through a holding company in Cyprus. The same five also owned Moscow-based Oxygen Software LLC, now MKO Systems LLC, where Davydov was chief technology officer. The developers who wrote the software worked in Russia, and the Russian company reportedly sold versions to Russian security and interior agencies.

Prosecutors say that after US sanctions widened following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the defendants agreed to hide the Russian ownership and development. Reiber allegedly certified to the US government in 2022 and 2023 that the company had no highest-level owner, and told the Department of Homeland Security in March 2026 that no Russians were involved in development. Customers included the Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations and the DHS Office of Inspector General, and the National Computer Forensics Institute awarded Oxygen a five-year contract in September 2024.

Authorities seized corporate bank accounts and around 57 internet domains. The Justice Department said the complaint does not allege that the software contained malicious code or was used for unauthorised access. Reiber was arrested in Idaho and released on bond; Davydov was detained at Heathrow Airport and the US intends to seek his extradition. Both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. OCCRP said it had received no response to its requests for comment.

Article Credit: https://www.occrp.org/en/news/us-charges-tech-ceo-russian-over-hidden-ownership