$USDT How a Russian national allegedly laundered $530M in crypto via Tether
Iurii Gugnin allegedly used fake documents to bypass sanctions and launder $530 million for Russian clients. In the process, he deceived US banks.
Key takeaways
Iurii Gugnin allegedly used his crypto firm to move $530 million through US banks and crypto exchanges using Tether (USDT), facilitating payments for Russian clients tied to sanctioned banks.
Gugnin allegedly failed to implement AML regulations and didn’t file suspicious activity reports (SARs), violating the Bank Secrecy Act and misleading financial institutions.
Gugnin also reportedly accessed websites that provided information on indicators of criminal investigation and methods for detecting law enforcement surveillance.
Gugnin faces 22 criminal counts, including wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering, with potential penalties of up to 30 years per charge.
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.