A Russian citizen living in New York has been arrested for allegedly using his cryptocurrency company to secretly move over $500 million through the U.S. financial system. According to a newly unsealed federal indictment, 38-year-old Iurii Gugnin is facing 22 criminal charges, including bank fraud, money laundering, and sanctions violations.
Gugnin is accused of using two U.S.-based companies, Vita Investments and Evita Pay to process large amounts of crypto tied to sanctioned Russian banks. The Department of Justice says he received most of the funds in the form of Tether (USDT) and converted them into dollars using U.S. bank accounts and crypto exchanges while concealing their true origins.
The indictment alleges that between June 2023 and January 2025, Gugnin assisted certain clients in Russia, which included associates of Sberbank, VTB, and even suppliers for Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear firm, to send money through the U.S. system by disguising transactions. In some cases, the funds were used to buy export-controlled U.S. technology.
Prosecutors say Gugnin lied to banks and exchanges about Evita’s clients and failed to follow key anti-money laundering rules. Although he claimed Evita had no ties to sanctioned entities, the government says he was actively helping those very institutions. He’s also accused of editing invoices and hiding names and addresses to avoid detection.
“Gugnin came to the United States and set up a money laundering operation under the guise of a cryptocurrency start-up,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. “He then used [Evita] to evade sanctions and export controls and defraud U.S. financial institutions.”
Federal investigators say Gugnin even searched online for ways to find out if he was under investigation. He reportedly looked up phrases like “Am I being investigated?” and “Money laundering penalties U.S.”
Authorities claim Gugnin registered Evita as a money services business using false information and misled Florida regulators to gain a license. That license was then used to convince crypto platforms to process his company’s transactions.
If convicted, Gugnin could face up to 30 years in prison for each bank fraud charge, plus additional sentences for other violations. The case is being handled by the Eastern District of New York, with support from the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
This arrest is another sign that U.S. regulators are increasing their focus on how crypto can be used to bypass sanctions and move money illegally.
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