Iurii Gugnin, a 38-year-old Russian national residing in New York, has been arrested and charged with operating a sophisticated money laundering scheme that allegedly funneled over $530 million through U.S. financial institutions. Gugnin, the founder of cryptocurrency payment firms Evita Pay and Evita Investments, is accused of facilitating transactions on behalf of clients linked to sanctioned Russian banks, including Sberbank, VTB Bank, Sovcombank, and Tinkoff. The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that he used stablecoins, primarily Tether (USDT), to process these payments, concealing the origins and purposes of the funds. Between June 2023 and January 2025, Gugnin allegedly processed nearly $2 billion in transactions, aiding clients in acquiring sensitive U.S. technology and circumventing export controls. This includes facilitating the purchase of restricted U.S. electronics and services for entities such as Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear technology company.
Prosecutors claim that Gugnin falsified compliance documentation, misrepresented his company’s ties to Russia, and doctored invoices to hide the identities of sanctioned entities. Investigators also discovered that he had searched online for information related to being under investigation, indicating awareness of potential legal consequences. Gugnin faces 22 criminal counts, including wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and violations of U.S. sanctions and export controls. If convicted on all counts, he could face a consecutive maximum sentence significantly longer than a lifetime.
This case underscores the growing concerns about the use of cryptocurrency in facilitating illicit financial activities and the challenges regulators face in enforcing sanctions and export controls in the digital age.
