DoJ: Uncle Sam bought forensics software from same Russian operation supplying FSB
Russian devs alleged to have built tools for US agencies as software from same op was sold to Moscow's security services
The United States Department of Justice has announced that federal authorities have arrested and charged the CEO of Oxygen Forensics, a Virginia-based company, and a Russian national with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charges stem from an alleged scheme to conceal the company's Russian ownership and the actual location of its software development.
Oxygen Forensics had sold digital forensics tools to various US defense and homeland security agencies, including the Department of War and several components of the Department of Homeland Security. Prosecutors allege that Oxygen presented itself as an independent US company, when in reality, it was owned and controlled by five Russian nationals through a Cyprus-based holding company.
The software developers who wrote the forensic tools worked in Russia, while the company sold the software to customers, including the Russian Federal Security Service, the Russian Investigative Committee, and the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The alleged concealment intensified after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent expansion of US sanctions.
Prosecutors claim that Oxygen's CEO, Lee Reiber, was installed as such, while its Russian owners maintained significant decision-making power. Oxygen's existence now hangs in the balance following the arrest of Reiber in Idaho and Davydov at London's Heathrow Airport before his transfer to Istanbul. The US plans to seek Davydov's extradition, and if convicted, both men could face up to 20 years in prison.
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