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US accuses Russian of laundering millions, helping Moscow obtain sensitive technology

by Olena Goncharova June 10, 2025 1:53 AM 2 min read
The U.S. Flag flies above a sign marking the US Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters building on Jan. 20, 2024, in Washington, DC. (J. David Ake/Getty Images)
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U.S. prosecutors have charged cryptocurrency entrepreneur Iurii Gugnin with laundering over $500 million and helping sanctioned Russian entities bypass export controls.

Gugnin, a 38-year-old Russian national living in New York, founded the U.S.-based companies Evita Investments and Evita Pay. He was arrested in New York on June 9 and faces multiple charges, including wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy.

According to court documents, Gugnin used his crypto payments companies to receive cryptocurrency from foreign clients, many of whom held accounts at sanctioned Russian banks. He then converted the funds into U.S. dollars through U.S. bank accounts and facilitated payments for electronics and other goods, concealing the origin of the money and the identities of those involved.

"Gugnin’s cryptocurrency company allegedly served as a front to launder hundreds of millions of dollars for sanctioned Russian entities and to obtain export-controlled technology for the Russian government," said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.

Between June 2023 and January 2025, Gugnin used Evita to facilitate the movement of approximately $530 million through the U.S. financial system, most of which he received in the form of a cryptocurrency stablecoin known as Tether, according to the U.S. Department of Justice report.

Prosecutors allege that Gugnin laundered money used to purchase parts for Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear technology company, and helped Russian end-users acquire export-controlled U.S. technology. Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg said Gugnin turned a crypto startup into “a covert pipeline for dirty money.”

The Department of Justice accused Gugnin of deceiving banks and crypto exchanges by falsely claiming that Evita did not deal with Russian or sanctioned entities. He also allegedly doctored invoices to obscure Russian customers and failed to comply with anti-money laundering rules, including neglecting to file required suspicious activity reports.

If convicted, Gugnin faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for each count of bank fraud and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the wire fraud.

Key to Russia’s potential defeat lies in its economy
As the war in Ukraine grinds on, attention remains fixed on the battlefield. But Russia’s most vulnerable flank is not in the trenches — it’s in the treasury. The West, and especially the United States, holds economic levers that could push Vladimir Putin toward serious negotiations or even collapse

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