The sign will be seen on August 29, 2020 at the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, DC.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have accused the founder of the US-based cryptocurrency payments company by operating what they claim to be a sophisticated international money laundering scheme worth over $5 billion on behalf of licensed Russian banks and other facilities.
Iurii Ggnin, a 38-year-old Russian citizen living in Manhattan, ordered an order to be arrested, arrested and detained without bail on Monday.
Gugnin is facing 22 counts indictment, accusing him of wire and bank fraud, violating US sanctions, export control, money laundering, and failing to implement legally necessary money laundering protocols.
“The defendant is accused of turning cryptocurrency companies into a secret pipeline of dirty money, moving the US financial system over $500 million, supporting licensed Russian banks, and helping Russian end users acquire sensitive US technology.”
Prosecutors said Gnin used his company (Evita Investments and Evita Pay) to process payments of approximately $530 million while hiding the origins and purpose of the funds. Between June 2023 and January 2025, he is said to have collected money through US banks and cryptocurrency exchanges using tether, a stub coin that is primarily widely used dollar-covered.
Clients included individuals and businesses associated with licensed Russian institutions such as Sberbank, VTB Bank, Sovcombank, Tinkoff and the state-run nuclear energy company Rosatom.
To implement the scheme, Gugnin is said to have misrepresented the scope of his business, forged compliance documents, and lied to banks and digital asset platforms about his relationship with Russia. Prosecutors say he hid funding sources through a shell account, turned over 80 bills into doctors, and digitally erased the identity of a Russian counterparty.
Investigators also cite internet searches that show they knew they were being scrutinized, including questions such as “how to know if there is an investigation into you” and “money laundering penalty.”
The Justice Department said Gunin maintains direct ties between members of the Russian intelligence agency and Iranian officials.
He is also accused of supporting the export of sensitive US technology to Russian clients, including counter-terrorism servers.
Gunin was featured in a Wall Street Journal article on Manhattan luxury rentals last fall, where he reportedly paid $19,000 a month for the apartment.
If convicted on a bank fraud claim, he faces a statutory maximum sentence in prison for 30 years, but if convicted in all respects, Gugnin can be given a continuous maximum sentence that is much longer than his life.
Source link
