Major Crypto Executive Accused Of Involvement In $500 Million Money Laundering Scheme

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have charged Iurii Gugnin, the founder of a US-based crypto payments company, with orchestrating a sophisticated international money laundering operation that allegedly moved over $530 million on behalf of sanctioned Russian banks and entities. 

According to a CNBC report on the matter, the 38-year-old Russian national, residing in Manhattan, was arrested and arraigned on Monday, where he was ordered to be held without bail pending trial.

‘A Covert Pipeline For Dirty Money’

Gugnin faces a 22-count indictment that includes charges of wire and bank fraud, violations of US sanctions, money laundering, and failing to implement mandated anti-money laundering protocols. Assistant Attorney General Eisenberg stated: 

The defendant is charged with turning a cryptocurrency company into a covert pipeline for dirty money, moving over half a billion dollars through the US financial system to aid sanctioned Russian banks and help Russian end-users acquire sensitive US technology.

According to prosecutors, Gugnin utilized his companies—Evita Investments and Evita Pay—to process significant payments while obscuring the origins and purposes of the funds. Between June 2023 and January 2025, he allegedly funneled money through various US banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, primarily using Tether’s USDT stablecoin. 

The indictment reveals that Gugnin’s clients included individuals and businesses associated with sanctioned Russian institutions such as Sberbank, VTB Bank, Sovcombank, Tinkoff, and the state-owned nuclear energy firm, Rosatom.

Crypto Executive Faces Up To 30 Years In Prison 

To execute this scheme, Gugnin allegedly misrepresented the nature of his business, falsified compliance documents, and deceived banks and digital asset platforms regarding his connections to Russia. 

Prosecutors allege he concealed the source of the funds through shell accounts and altered over 80 invoices, digitally removing the identities of Russian counterparties.

Investigators also uncovered internet searches that indicate Gugnin was aware of the scrutiny he faced, including queries like “how to know if there is an investigation against you” and “money laundering penalties in the US”

Notably, the Justice Department has highlighted that Gugnin maintained direct connections with members of Russia’s intelligence services and officials in Iran—nations that do not extradite individuals to the US. He is also accused of facilitating the export of sensitive US technology to Russian clients, including controlled anti-terrorism servers.

If convicted on bank fraud charges alone, the crypto executive faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. However, should he be found guilty on all counts, he could face a much longer consecutive sentence that could extend beyond his lifetime, underscoring the severity of the charges against him.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com