Reported by Dilip Kumar Patairya 

(Excerpt shown below. To read full report, go to: https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-a-russian-national-allegedly-laundered-530m-in-crypto-via-tethert)

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged Iurii Gugnin, also known as George Goognin and Iurii Mashukov, a Russian national residing in New York, with 22 criminal counts in a sweeping case that underscores the growing challenges of regulating cryptocurrency markets. Gugnin is accused of laundering more than $530 million through his cryptocurrency companies, Evita Investments and Evita Pay, while facilitating transactions for sanctioned Russian entities.

How Gugnin Allegedly Laundered $530 Million Using USDT and US Banks

Gugnin, through his cryptocurrency companies, was allegedly involved in money laundering activities between June 2023 and January 2025, using various deceptive tactics. Gugnin is accused of moving $530 million through the US financial system while concealing the illicit origins of the funds.

Here are some aspects of Gugnin’s money-laundering activities:

• Scale of money laundering: Gugnin laundered about $530 million through US banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, primarily using USDT, a stablecoin tied to the US dollar and known for its fast, low-volatility cross-border transactions.
• Involvement of sanctioned Russian banks: The operation involved receiving cryptocurrency from foreign clients, many connected to sanctioned Russian banks, including Sberbank, VTB, Sovcombank and Tinkoff. These digital funds were channeled through cryptocurrency wallets controlled by Evita and then converted into US dollars or other traditional currencies via US bank accounts. This helped Gugnin to obscure their origins and assist Russian clients in evading international sanctions.
• Concealment tactics: Gugnin used deceptive methods to hide the illegal nature of these cross-border transactions. He altered invoices digitally to remove the names and addresses of Russian clients and provided false compliance documents to banks and cryptocurrency exchanges. These documents wrongly claimed that Evita had no ties to sanctioned entities and had complied with AML and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.
• Noncompliance with financial regulations: Despite claiming compliance, Evita allegedly operated without an actual AML compliance and failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) as required by US regulations. This allowed Gugnin to mask the source and purpose of the funds, enabling high-risk transactions that may have supported Russia’s access to restricted US technology.