Signage is evident at the US Section of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., August 29, 2020.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have charged the founding father of a U.S.-based cryptocurrency bills company with working what they allege used to be an advanced global cash laundering scheme that moved over part one billion bucks in the name of sanctioned Russian banks and alternative entities.
Iurii Gugnin, a 38-year-old Russian nationwide residing in Ny, used to be arrested and arraigned Monday and ordered held with out bail pending trial.
Gugnin faces a 22-count indictment accusing him of twine and reserve fraud, violating U.S. sanctions and export controls, cash laundering, and failing to enforce legally required anti-money laundering protocols.
“The defendant is charged with turning a cryptocurrency company into a covert pipeline for dirty money, moving over half a billion dollars through the U.S. financial system to aid sanctioned Russian banks and help Russian end-users acquire sensitive U.S. technology,” Associate Lawyer Normal Eisenberg stated in a observation.
Prosecutors stated Gugnin impaired his firms — Evita Investments and Evita Pay — to procedure about $530 million in bills month concealing the origins and functions of the budget. Between June 2023 and January 2025, he allegedly funneled the cash via U.S. banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, essentially the use of tether, a extensively impaired, dollar-pegged stablecoin.
Purchasers integrated people and companies related to sanctioned Russian establishments reminiscent of Sberbank, VTB Warehouse, Sovcombank, Tinkoff, and the state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom.
To hold out the scheme, Gugnin allegedly misrepresented the scope of his trade, falsified compliance documentation, and lied to banks and virtual asset platforms about his ties to Russia. Prosecutors say he masked the supply of budget via shell accounts and doctored greater than 80 invoices, digitally erasing the identities of Russian counterparties.
Investigators additionally cite web searches indicating he knew he used to be underneath scrutiny, together with queries like “how to know if there is an investigation against you” and “money laundering penalties US.”
The Justice Section stated Gugnin maintained direct ties to individuals of Russia’s knowledge provider and officers in Iran — international locations that don’t extradite to the U.S.
He’s additionally accused of serving to the export of delicate U.S. era to Russian purchasers, together with an anti-terrorism-controlled server.
Gugnin used to be profiled ultimate fall in a Wall Street Journal article about high-net-worth renters in Ny, the place he reportedly paid $19,000 consistent with past for an condo.
If convicted on reserve fraud fees, he faces a statutory most sentence of 30 years in jail, but when convicted on all counts, Gugnin might be given a consecutive most sentence considerably longer than his lifetime.
