Crypto entrepreneur charged in $500mn laundering scheme tied to Russia sanctions evasion

Crypto entrepreneur charged in $500mn laundering scheme tied to Russia sanctions evasion

US federal prosecutors have indicted cryptocurrency entrepreneur Iurii Gugnin of orchestrating an elaborate scheme to evade sanctions and launder more than $500 million through the US financial system and help Russians gain access to sensitive US technology, the Financial Times reported.

Gugnin, 38, who established Florida-based Evita Pay and Delaware-registered Evita Investments, was apprehended in New York on Monday. He is charged with 22 criminal allegations involving wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy, and infractions against US export control regulations. Some of the charges hold possible punishments of 30 years in prison.

Charges of laundering and tech export offenses

Gugnin—in addition to using aliases Iurii Mashukov and George Goognin—established his cryptocurrency businesses in the US to transfer money secretly on behalf of clients in Russia, China, and the United Arab Emirates, a federal indictment that was unsealed in Brooklyn court alleged. Several of those clients, prosecutors said, maintained money in sanctioned Russian banks.

According to prosecutors, Gugnin utilized crypto wallets and US bank accounts in order to convert digital assets into fiat currency and then proceeded to make purchases on behalf of the clients. These include payments for artwork, a French yacht company, and components for Rosatom, Russia's state-owned nuclear energy company.

The other was smuggling out a US-made rack server meant for a Russian buyer-a device under export controls that are illegal to ship out of the United States without a license. The third involved Yiwu Vortex Import and Export Co., a Hong Kong-domiciled distributor sanctioned by the US in 2023 for the reported sale of maritime technology to Russia.

Ties at the topmost levels and potential to flee

In a court letter, prosecutors cautioned that Gugnin has connections to Russian and Iranian government agents, as well as members of Russia's intelligence agencies, and might seek to leave prosecution. Gugnin has resided in the US since 2022 on an O-1A visa for individuals who possess "extraordinary ability or achievement." He presented himself publicly as a repeat entrepreneur in the blockchain industry.

This defendant came to the United States and set up a money-laundering operation under the guise of a cryptocurrency start-up, used it to evade sanctions, export controls, and defraud US financial institutions," said US attorney Joseph Nocella.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg added: "Gugnin turned a cryptocurrency company into a covert pipeline for dirty money."

Massive crypto flows through Evita Investments

According to court documents, Gugnin helped facilitate nearly $2 billion in transactions, including $530 million that he moved through banks and other U.S. financial institutions. Of that, $365 million came from the stablecoin Tether, and the vast majority of transactions were funneled through Evita Investments rather than Evita Pay.

A representative for Gugnin did not respond to requests for comment. The Department of Justice has not indicated whether additional arrests are expected in connection with the investigation.

The case highlights increasing concern within Washington over the ability of digital assets to be used to circumvent international sanctions and export restrictions. It also underlines increasing federal law enforcement scrutiny of crypto firms that facilitate cross-border payments without adequate compliance controls in place.

Gugnin’s indictment is among the most serious to date in linking cryptocurrency-fuelled money laundering to national security risks, including the illegal procurement of US technology by adversarial states.