Russian Entrepreneur Arrested for $530 Million Crypto Laundering Scheme

Iurii Gugnin, a Russian-born entrepreneur, has been arrested in New York for allegedly using his crypto payments company, Evita, to launder over $530 million for sanctioned Russian banks and tech buyers. The Department of Justice has unsealed a 22-count indictment against Gugnin, who is also known by aliases including George Goognin. The charges include bank fraud, sanctions evasion, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Prosecutors allege that between June 2023 and January 2025, Evita moved $530 million through the U.S. financial system, primarily in Tether (USDT), sourced from Russian customers associated with sanctioned banks such as Sberbank, VTB, and Tinkoff.

Gugnin is accused of going to great lengths to conceal the fraud, including moving funds between crypto and fiat currencies, falsifying invoices, inflating amounts, and using fake customer names. The transactions allowed Russian clients to maintain their money outside their country, move it discreetly, and purchase sensitive U.S. technologies, such as those used in missile guidance systems. The funds were allegedly laundered through American providers of banking and crypto services, with Gugnin misleading financial institutions by claiming Evita had no dealings with Russian clients or restricted jurisdictions.

The laundering method reportedly included multiple digital wallets and fake invoices, with customer identities redacted or altered to leave U.S. banks and exchanges blind to the true origins and endpoints of the transactions. This layered conversion not only disguised the audit trail but also enabled foreign nationals to bypass U.S. export restrictions. Some of the purchases included export-controlled servers and semiconductors, which authorities say were shipped to intermediaries acting on behalf of Russian government-linked clients.

Despite claiming to follow strict AML (anti-money laundering) and KYC (know-your-customer) procedures, investigators say Evita had no meaningful compliance program. The company allegedly failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) as mandated by the Bank Secrecy Act. Gugnin went as far as fraudulently registering Evita Pay as a licensed money transmitter in Florida, allowing the company to gain legitimacy in the eyes of a major cryptocurrency exchange, which then processed high-volume transfers on Evita’s behalf. Notably, Gugnin also maintained personal accounts at Alfa-Bank and Sberbank, two major Russian banks under U.S. sanctions, while residing in the United States.

Investigators say Gugnin left behind a trail of internet searches that paint a picture of a man aware he was skating on thin legal ice. Among the phrases he reportedly searched were “Am I being investigated?”, “Money laundering penalties US”, and “Evita Investments Inc. criminal records search”. He also visited pages about how to detect if you’re under federal investigation. This digital footprint, prosecutors argue, underscores his knowledge and intent to violate U.S. laws.

If convicted, Gugnin faces the following maximum sentences: 30 years per count for bank fraud, 20 years per count for wire fraud, money laundering, and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 10 years for AML and SAR violations, and 5 years for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. With 22 separate charges, the total exposure could result in multiple decades in prison.

This case comes at a time when U.S. regulators are intensifying oversight of the crypto sector’s role in illicit finance. The DOJ and Department of Commerce have been aggressively pursuing cross-border crypto violations, particularly those that threaten national security. The investigation was led by the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, a multi-agency initiative aimed at curbing the export of sensitive technologies to adversarial regimes. Crypto insiders say the indictment could have far-reaching implications. Exchanges, wallet providers, and payment processors may now face greater pressure to vet clients, monitor wallet activity more closely, and strengthen on-chain analytics systems to detect red flags.

Tether (USDT) — the stablecoin most commonly used in the alleged transactions — has frequently come under criticism for its role in high-volume, cross-border flows that sometimes evade regulation. This case is likely to amplify calls for enhanced transparency in how stablecoins are issued and redeemed. The case underscores the need for stricter compliance and monitoring within the crypto industry to prevent such large-scale financial crimes and sanctions evasion.