Iurii Gugnin, a Russian citizen living in New York, is accused of laundering over $530 million from Russia to the US through the cryptocurrency company Evita, violating sanctions.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has just announced an indictment with 22 charges against Iurii Gugnin, a 38-year-old Russian citizen living in New York, with serious allegations of electronic fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering through cryptocurrency activities. The case is considered one of the largest money laundering cases involving sanctions violations against Russia.
According to Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, "The defendant is accused of turning a cryptocurrency company into an underground channel for dirty money, transferring over half a billion dollars through the US financial system to support sanctioned Russian banks and help end-users in Russia access sensitive US technology."
Gugnin, who also uses the aliases Iurii Mashukov and George Goognin, is the founder and operator of two companies, Evita Investments and Evita Pay, and also serves as chairman, treasurer, and compliance officer. Through these entities, he is accused of laundering millions of dollars in crypto assets for foreign clients, including those with deposits in sanctioned Russian banks.
Complex Operation Mechanism through Stablecoin
According to the indictment, from June 2023 to January 2025, Gugnin transferred approximately $530 million into the US financial system, primarily through the stablecoin Tether (USDT). These funds were introduced into bank accounts in Manhattan through a complex network to conceal their true origin.
The defendant is accused of providing misleading information about his company's activities to banks and exchanges, creating a legal cover for illegal transactions. This mechanism allowed Russian clients, including those associated with sanctioned banks, to continue accessing the US financial system despite sanctions.
The list of 22 charges Gugnin faces includes electronic fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the US government, related conspiracy offenses, and violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). For each bank fraud charge, the defendant could face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
