The Head of Cryptocurrency Payment System "Ebitapay" Accused of Money Laundering
Korean Company Involved in Transactions Linked to Russian Clients
Gugnin Allegedly Laundered Over $530 Million Through Complex Schemes
The true identity of a Russian national residing in the United States, previously known only as a successful cryptocurrency entrepreneur, has been revealed. In reality, he was a money launderer serving Russian clients and others. It has also been reported that a Korean company was involved in the course of his crimes.
According to Yonhap News on June 10, citing the U.S. District Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, Yury Gugnin, 38, the head of the cryptocurrency payment system "Ebitapay," has been indicted. He is accused of laundering approximately $530 million (about 724.5 billion won) by deceiving the U.S. financial system and others from June 2023 to January 2025.
Gugnin settled in New York in 2022 and held an O-1A "extraordinary ability" visa, which is granted to foreigners with outstanding abilities in fields such as business, science, and sports.
However, according to the indictment filed by New York prosecutors, Gugnin was in fact a money launderer whose main clients were Russians.
Due to international financial sanctions, Russians and others could not freely make overseas payments. When they remitted cryptocurrency, Gugnin would receive the funds and obscure their origins by routing them through multiple cryptocurrency wallets and U.S. accounts in a complex manner.
Once the money laundering process was complete, the funds appeared as legitimate U.S. dollars or other fiat currencies. These laundered funds were then paid to merchants specified by the clients. Among the businesses that received such payments was a Korean company.
In March of last year, at the request of a Russian client, Gugnin transferred funds to the account of a Korean company via a trading firm in Hong Kong. The Korean company, in accordance with its contract with the Hong Kong trading firm, reportedly shipped equipment and parts to a company in Moscow, Russia. However, the indictment does not appear to specify the name of the Korean company.
The Moscow-based company that received the shipment from the Korean firm was an affiliate of Rosatom, the Russian state-owned nuclear power company. Gugnin also assisted Russian clients in purchasing server products designed by a U.S. company using a similar method. These products cannot be purchased by Russians due to export control measures.
The indictment against Gugnin lists 22 criminal charges, including bank fraud, wire fraud, sanctions evasion, money laundering, and violations of export restriction regulations.
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