Golden Finance reports that according to the Financial Times of the UK, the US prosecution has filed a lawsuit against Iurii Gugnin, the founder of the cryptocurrency payment company Evita, on charges including evading sanctions and violating export control regulations. The prosecution accused Gugnin of laundering more than 500 million US dollars and assisting Russia in obtaining sensitive technologies.
Court documents released by the Brooklyn Federal Court show that Gugnin was charged with telecommunications fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and other related crimes on Monday (June 9th). The US Department of Justice said that Gugnin was arrested in New York and has been interrogated.
The prosecution pointed out that Gugnin used its affiliated companies to pay for sensitive electronic products for overseas customers, including servers subject to US export control. Furthermore, he also provided financial support for the purchase of components by Rosatom, the Russian state atomic energy company, through money laundering means.
According to the indictment, Gugnin is the American company Evita Investments Inc. The founder, president, chief financial officer and compliance officer of Evita Pay Inc. (collectively referred to as Evita). With the help of these two companies, he received cryptocurrencies from overseas clients (many of whose funds were deposited in sanctioned Russian banks), and then carried out money laundering operations through cryptocurrency wallets and US bank accounts. Ultimately, the funds are converted into US dollars or other legal tender and payments are made on behalf of overseas clients through bank accounts in Manhattan. During this process, the source of the funds is deliberately blurred and the true identity of the counterparty is also hidden.
Between June 2023 and January 2025, Gugnin used Evita to facilitate the circulation of approximately 530 million US dollars through the US financial system, with the majority of the funds being received in the form of a crypto stablecoin called Tether (USDT). To implement this plan, Gugnin defrauded several banks and cryptocurrency exchanges involved in fund conversion and wire transfer services. He repeatedly lied to these institutions, claiming that Evita did not conduct business with Russian entities and had no transactions with sanctioned entities. But in fact, many of his clients are located in Russia, and he also provides payment facilitation for clients who hold funds in sanctioned Russian banks such as Sberbank, VTB Bank, Industrial Communication Bank and Tinkoff Bank. In addition, during his stay in the United States, Gugnin also held personal accounts and conducted transactions at two sanctioned Russian banks (Alfa Bank and Sberbank).
John A. Eisenberg, the assistant Attorney general for National Security of the United States, said: “The defendant was accused of turning A cryptocurrency company into a secret channel for illegal funds, transferring more than 500 million US dollars through the US financial system to assist sanctioned Russian banks and help Russian end users access sensitive US technology.” The US Department of Justice will not hesitate to bring to justice those who endanger the national security of the United States by helping foreign adversaries evade sanctions and export controls.
Joseph Nocella Jr., the prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York in the United States, said: “It is alleged that Gugnin came to the United States, established money laundering businesses under the guise of cryptocurrency startups, thereby evading sanctions and export controls and defrauding US financial institutions.” Today’s arrest operation indicates that this office will actively prosecute those who abuse the US financial system to promote criminal activities, especially when these acts undermine national security.
If convicted, Gugnin could face severe punishment, with a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for each charge of bank fraud and 20 years for each charge of telecommunications fraud. At present, this case is still under further investigation.
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