Crypto payments company founder Iurii Gugnin charged in $500 million money laundering scheme
Iurii Gugnin, a 38-year-old founder of a US-based cryptocurrency payments company, has been charged with orchestrating an international money laundering scheme that allegedly channeled over $500 million through the American financial system on behalf of sanctioned Russian banks and other entities. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Gugnin used his companies – Evita investments and Evita Pay, to move millions of dollars between June 2023 and January 2025. He allegedly concealed the true origin and purpose of the funds. The transactions were primarily conducted using tether, a widely used stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, the DOJ said. Gugnin, also known as Iurii Mashukov and George Goognin, faces a sweeping 22-count…
