Founder of Crypto Payments Firm Charged with Laundering $500M for Sanctioned Russian Banks

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Crypto Caper: The Tale of Gugnin’s Greedy Gambit! đŸ’°đŸ˜±

Once upon a time in the bustling streets of New York, a chap named Gugnin—who fancied himself as Iurii Mashukov and George Goognin—found himself in a bit of a pickle. Arrested on a Monday (of all days!), he was charged with a laundry list of mischief: wire and bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and even a cheeky violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Oh dear, what a tangled web he wove!

DOJ: Crypto Company Was a Front for Sanction Evasion

According to the wise folks at the Department of Justice, our dear Gugnin used his U.S.-based companies—Evita Investments Inc. and Evita Pay Inc.—to help foreign clients, including those cheeky chaps connected to sanctioned Russian banks, skip around U.S. restrictions like they were playing hopscotch. Prosecutors claim Gugnin’s network was like a magician, moving funds with Tether (USDT) and other cryptocurrencies, turning them into U.S. dollars and wiring them through Manhattan-based bank accounts, all while playing hide-and-seek with the true origin and recipients. đŸŽ©âœš

“The defendant is charged with turning a cryptocurrency company into a covert pipeline for dirty money,” said John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “Over half a billion dollars moved to aid sanctioned Russian banks and obtain sensitive U.S. technology.” Talk about a high-stakes game of Monopoly gone wrong!

But wait, there’s more! Gugnin allegedly spun a web of lies to both U.S. banks and crypto exchanges, claiming that Evita had no ties to those naughty sanctioned entities. In reality, he was cozying up to Alfa-Bank and Sberbank, both under sanctions, and processing payments for entities like Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear agency. Oh, the irony! 😏

Export-Controlled Tech and Falsified Records

Authorities say this sneaky scheme was used to procure sensitive U.S. export-controlled electronics, including servers built by American technology firms. Gugnin even played a little game of “erase and replace” with invoices, wiping out Russian names and addresses to hide the true counterparties. A real magician, that one!

Despite waving a flag of compliance with anti-money laundering protocols, Gugnin forgot to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and misled FinCEN and the State of Florida to snag a fraudulent money transmitter license—then used that shiny license to access U.S.-based crypto platforms. How clever! 🙄

Conscious of Criminal Exposure

Evidence presented includes Google searches made by Gugnin, indicating his awareness of illegal conduct. Search terms included “am I being investigated?”, “money laundering penalties US”, and “Evita Investments Inc. criminal records search.” Oh, the irony of searching for your own doom! 😂

“Gugnin’s cryptocurrency company allegedly served as a front to launder hundreds of millions of dollars for sanctioned Russian entities,” said FBI Counterintelligence Division Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky. “Using crypto to hide criminal conduct won’t shield you from prosecution.” Well, that’s a lesson learned the hard way!

If convicted, Gugnin faces:

  • Up to 30 years per count of bank fraud
  • Up to 20 years per count of wire fraud, money laundering, and IEEPA violations
  • Up to 10 years for AML program failures
  • Up to 5 years for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and operating without a license

The case highlights growing federal scrutiny of crypto’s role in sanctions evasion, particularly involving state-linked actors in adversarial nations. The DOJ emphasized its continued focus on bringing such offenders to justice to protect U.S. national security. And so, the tale of Gugnin comes to a close, a cautionary fable for all those who dare to dance with the devil! đŸ•ș💃

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2025-06-10 02:05