Brooklyn federal prosecutors have accused the founder of a cryptocurrency payments company based in the United States of running a complex global money laundering conspiracy that transferred more than half a billion dollars on behalf of Russian banks and other businesses that were subject to sanctions.
The 38-year-old Manhattan resident Iurii Gugnin, a Russian national, was taken into custody, charged, and ordered to be detained without bail until his trial.
In a 22-count indictment, Gugnin is charged with wire and bank fraud, U.S. sanctions and export control violations, money laundering, and noncompliance with legally mandated anti-money laundering procedures.
The defendant is accused of using a cryptocurrency company as a covert pipeline for illicit funds, transferring more than half a billion dollars through the American financial system to support Russian banks that have been sanctioned and assist Russian end users in obtaining sensitive U.S. technology, Assistant Attorney General Eisenberg said in a statement.
Gugnin processed payments totaling approximately $530 million through his businesses, Evita Investments and Evita Pay, according to the prosecution, while hiding the sources and uses of the money. He allegedly transferred the funds via U.S. institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges between June 2023 and January 2025, mostly using tether, a popular stablecoin that is dollar-pegged.
Clients included people and companies associated with Russian organizations that were sanctioned, including Tinkoff, VTB Bank, Sovcombank, Sberbank, and Rosatom, the state-owned nuclear energy company.
Gugnin allegedly lied to banks and digital asset platforms about his connections to Russia, fabricated compliance documents, and overstated the size of his company in order to carry out the plan. Prosecutors claim that he altered over 80 invoices, digitally removing the identities of Russian counterparties, and concealed the source of payments through shell accounts.
Investigators also mention searches he conducted online that suggest he was aware of his suspicions, such as “money laundering penalties US” and “how to know if there is an investigation against you.”
Gugnin reportedly kept close contact with Iranian authorities and Russian intelligence personnel, both of whom the Justice Department stated do not extradite to the United States.
Additionally, he is charged with aiding the export of classified U.S. technology, such as a server under anti-terrorism monitoring, to Russian customers.
Gugnin reportedly spent $19,000 a month for an apartment in Manhattan, where he was featured in a Wall Street Journal article about wealthy renters last October.
While Gugnin faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in jail if found guilty of bank fraud charges, he might receive a consecutive maximum term that is much longer than his lifespan if found guilty of all counts.
