A Russian man is accused of using USDT for Money Laundering of $530 million and has been sued by the U.S. Department of Justice.

On June 10, news broke that the U.S. Department of Justice has filed charges against Iurii Gugnin, a New York resident and Russian national, for allegedly laundering $530 million through the crypto asset company Evita. Prosecutors allege that from June 2023 to January 2025, he primarily used the USDT stablecoin to transfer funds for overseas users, including clients of sanctioned Russian banks, and completed the money laundering operations through a Manhattan bank account.

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 violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, among others. The Assistant Attorney General for National Security of the Department of Justice pointed out that he turned the crypto company into an “illegal funds secret channel” to help sanctioned Russian banks obtain sensitive technology from the U.S. If convicted of bank fraud, each count carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.