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The signals are seen at the headquarters of the United States Justice in Washington, Colombia, August 29, 2020.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Federal Prosecutors in Brooklyn have charged The founder of US -based cryptocurrency The payments company with the operation of what they claim Russian banks and other businesses.
Juri Gugan, a 38-year-old Russian national living in Manhattan, was arrested and appointed on Monday and ordered to be held without guarantee in anticipation of a lawsuit.
Gugnin faces an indictment of 22, accused him of fraud and bank fraud, violating US sanctions and export control, money laundering and failing to enforce the necessary money laundering protocols.
“The defendant has been accused of turning a cryptocurrency company into a covert dirty money pipeline, moving more than half a billion dollars through the US financial system to help sanctioned Russian banks and help Russian end users acquire sensitive American technology,” Aenea’s A Assistant Prosecutor A Assistant Prosecutor said.
Prosecutors said Gugan used his companies – Evita Investments and Evita Pay – to process about $ 530 million in payments, while concealing the origin and goals of the funds. Between June 2023 and January 2025, he claims to have suffered money through US banks and exchanges tetherWidely used stable stabils.
Customers include persons and businesses related to sanctioned Russian institutions such as Sberbank, VTB Bank, Sovcombank, Tinkoff and the state -owned Rosatom nuclear energy company.
In order to implement the scheme, Gugan claims to misrepresent the scope of his business, falsify the documentation of conformity and lied to banks and digital asset platforms for its relations with Russia. Prosecutors say he has masked the source of funds through Shell accounts and documented more than 80 invoices, digitally eradicating the identity of Russian counterparties.
Investigators also quote the Internet searches showing that he knows he is under control, including inquiries such as “How to find out if there is an investigation against you” and “money laundering are punished.”
The Department of Justice said,
He is also accused of supporting the export of sensitive American technology by Russian customers, including an anti -terrorism -controlled server.
Gugnin was profiled last fall in a Wall Street Journal article For tenants with high net value in Manhattan, where he is reported to pay $ 19,000 a month for an apartment.
If convicted of bank fraud allegations, he is faced with a legal maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, but if convicted on all charges, Gugan may receive another maximum sentence much longer than his life.
