Russian Ties to U.S. Software: Oxygen Forensics Executives Arrested in USA

The U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrest of the CEO of the American company Oxygen Forensics and the company’s Russian co-founder.

The company, which had Russian ties, sold software to U.S. government agencies. This was reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Oxygen Forensics CEO Lee Reiber and co-founder Oleg Davydov were arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud.

According to investigators, while supplying software to U.S. law enforcement agencies, they concealed the company’s Russian ownership and the fact that the software was developed in Russia.

Reiber, a 55-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested in Idaho and later released on bail.

Davydov, a 52-year-old Russian national, was detained at London’s Heathrow Airport before his flight to Istanbul.

The U.S. intends to seek his extradition. Each faces up to 20 years in prison.

Russian connection of Oxygen Forensics

Oxygen Forensics was owned by five Russians through a Cypriot holding company.
They also owned the Russian company MKO Systems, whose clients, according to the investigation, included Russian intelligence agencies.

After sanctions were expanded in 2022, the Russians were removed from public documents, and Raiber was appointed CEO.

However, the Russian owners continued to control the company’s decisions and accounts. Development was led by a team in Russia under Davydov’s leadership.

At the same time, Reiber assured the U.S. that there was no Russian control or Russian involvement in the development.

In September 2024, the U.S. National Computer Forensics Institute for the Secret Service signed a five-year contract with the company.

Oxygen Forensics was registered in the U.S. in 2013. The Russian company MKO Systems produces Mobile Forensic — a program for extracting data from smartphones.

Previously, investigators from InformNapalm traced the company’s corporate and technological origins and identified a connection between the American Oxygen Forensics and the Russian Oxygen Software, which was later renamed MKO Systems.

OSINT analysis of publicly available corporate, court, and procurement data showed that the Russian and American product ecosystems share a common origin. At the same time, tools from the Russian product line were supplied to Russian law enforcement agencies, including the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.