Alleged crypto tycoon facing charges for suspected USD 500 million money laundering operation
Crypto Scoundrel: How Evita's Founder Laundered $530M in Dirty Money
Published at 10 Jun 2025
Meet Iurii Gugnin, the notorious New York-dwelling Russian citizen, who's been slapped with the moniker of "covert pipeline for dirty money". The US Department of Justice (DoJ) spilled the beans on this cunning SOB on the 9th of June, accusing him of laundering a whopping $530 million through the US financial system. Gugnin, who goes by aliases like Iurii Mashukov and George Goognin, is the mastermind behind Evita Investments and Evita Pay – cryptocurrency companies that doubled as a sleazy money-laundering operation.
The Dirty Scheme
Over a period of 1.5 years, from June 2023 to January 2025, Gugnin's cryptocurrency-powered laundering scheme provided a covert route for funds held at sanctioned Russian banks. The majority of these funds were channeled through the stablecoin Tether (USDT). The laundered funds were then injected into US dollar accounts in Manhattan, effectively concealing their origin and the identities of the real parties involved.
Sanctioned banks implicated in this sordid tale include JSC Tinkoff Bank, PJSC VTB Bank, PJSC Sovcombank, and PJSC Sberbank. Through Gugnin's duplicitous tactics, foreign customers were able to obtain sensitive electronics and procure components for Russia's state-owned nuclear technology firm, Rosatom.
Defrauding the United States
In a cunning move to further deceive US financial institutions, Gugnin removed the names and addresses of Russian customers from invoices – also known as "whiting out" their identities. To add insult to injury, he told these institutions that Evita had maintained no dealings with Russian or sanctioned entities and claimed compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) obligations. In stark contrast, Gugnin was flouting the Bank Secrecy Act and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) by deceiving the system.
Google's Got the Smoke
The DoJ unearthed numerous damning searches made by Gugnin on google, including inquiries such as "Iurri Gugnin criminal records", "how to know if there is an investigation against you?" and "money laundering penalties US". This digital paper trail likely sealed his fate.
Gugnin stands to be imprisoned for up to 30 years for each bank fraud offense, 20 years for each count of wire fraud, violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and money laundering, and a 10-year sentence for failing to establish an effective anti-money laundering program and failure to report suspicious activities. If found guilty of conspiring to deceive the United States and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, Gugnin faces an additional five years in prison.
A Warning to Wannabe Criminals
FBI's Counterintelligence Division Assistant Director, Roman Rozhavsky, provided a stern warning: "Let this serve as a reminder that employing cryptocurrency to mask illicit activities won't exonerate you from accountability." US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella Jr, echoed the sentiment: "This case underscores our commitment to prosecuting those who abuse the US financial system to further criminal activity, particularly when it undermines national security."
The fraudulent activities of Iurii Gugnin, known for his involvement in Evita Investments and Evita Pay, show how the cryptocurrency industry can be exploited for money laundering and general-news crimes. His scheme, which involved funneling funds from sanctioned Russian banks through Tether (USDT), also raised concerns in the realm of finance and business. Furthermore, theBusiness Insider reported on June 10, 2025, that Gugnin was defying US laws by manipulating American financial institutions, such as violating the Bank Secrecy Act and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and could face significant penalties in the crime-and-justice sector.
