Brooklyn Prosecutors Charge Crypto Firm Founder in $530 Million Russian Sanctions Evasion Scheme

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have unsealed a 22-count indictment against Iurii Gugnin, a 38-year-old Russian national living in Manhattan, accusing him of orchestrating a complex international money laundering operation that funneled more than half a billion dollars through the U.S. financial system. Gugnin, the founder of U.S.-based cryptocurrency payments companies Evita Investments and Evita Pay, was arrested and arraigned on Monday, with the court ordering him held without bail as he awaits trial.

Gugnin is charged with a slew of federal offenses, including wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, violations of U.S. sanctions and export control laws, and failure to implement mandatory anti-money laundering (AML) measures within his companies. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the operation moved approximately $530 million between June 2023 and January 2025, primarily through the use of tether, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, across banks and cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States.

“The defendant is charged with turning a cryptocurrency company into a covert pipeline for dirty money, moving over half a billion dollars through the U.S. financial system to aid sanctioned Russian banks and help Russian end-users acquire sensitive U.S. technology,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said in a statement.

Among the beneficiaries of the laundering operation, prosecutors say, were clients directly linked to sanctioned Russian financial institutions including Sberbank, VTB Bank, Sovcombank, and Tinkoff, as well as Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy conglomerate. In addition to channeling payments for these entities, Gugnin is accused of aiding in the unlawful export of restricted U.S. technology, including an anti-terrorism-controlled server, to Russian clients.

Federal authorities allege Gugnin deliberately concealed the true nature of his activities by misrepresenting the business purpose of Evita Investments and Evita Pay, submitting falsified compliance documents, and lying to banks and crypto platforms about his Russian affiliations. Investigators further claim he disguised the origin of funds using shell companies and doctored more than 80 invoices to obscure the identities of Russian counterparties, digitally removing names and other identifying data.

Gugnin’s digital trail revealed his awareness of potential legal exposure. According to prosecutors, his search history included phrases such as “how to know if there is an investigation against you” and “money laundering penalties US.”

The Department of Justice also revealed Gugnin maintained direct connections with Russian intelligence operatives and Iranian government officials, two jurisdictions with which the United States lacks extradition treaties. These ties are part of what prosecutors describe as a broader scheme designed not only to evade U.S. financial controls but to undermine national security through the transfer of restricted American technologies.

Despite his involvement in alleged illicit operations, Gugnin had reportedly been living a life of luxury in New York City. He was featured in a Wall Street Journal article last fall that spotlighted affluent Manhattan renters, where it was noted he paid $19,000 a month for his apartment.

If convicted on the bank fraud charge alone, Gugnin faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison. However, should he be found guilty on all 22 counts, the cumulative maximum penalties would extend far beyond a single lifetime.

By fLEXI tEAM