US prosecutors accuse Evita founder Iurii Gugnin of laundering $530 million and aiding Russia in acquiring sensitive technology According to The Block, the US Department of Justice indictment reveals that Iurii Gugnin, a Russian resident of New York, has been charged with allegedly laundering $530 million through the cryptocurrency company Evita. The prosecutor accuses him of primarily using USDT stablecoin to transfer funds to overseas users, including sanctioned Russian bank customers, and conducting money laundering operations through Manhattan Bank accounts between June 2023 and January 2025. 38 year old Gugnin, as the founder and compliance officer of Evita, has been charged with 22 counts, including telecommunications fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Assistant Secretary for National Security of the Department of Justice stated that it has turned cryptocurrency companies into "secret channels for illegal funds" to help sanctioned Russian banks obtain sensitive US technology. If convicted of bank fraud, each charge can result in a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.