Miami Crypto Broker Charged in Alleged Russian Money Laundering Network

A Miami-area cryptocurrency broker faces a federal money laundering conspiracy charge over his alleged role in a Russian network that converted drug proceeds into cryptocurrency and bank payments through an international system of brokers and cash couriers.

A criminal complaint dated October 14 in the Eastern District of Virginia charges Pavel Alekseyevich Kulizhnikov with conspiring to launder money through transactions designed to conceal criminal proceeds, including transactions involving funds represented to be drug proceeds. The complaint and supporting affidavit were entered on the Southern District of Florida docket on October 21.  The complaint was first reported by CourtWatch.

The Drug Enforcement Administration identifies Kulizhnikov as a broker affiliated with the “JUST Team,” also known as “Just World Pro Crypto Team” and “Just Hollywood Stars.” According to the affidavit, the team operated within a broader organization whose members shared couriers, referred clients and coordinated transactions through Telegram group chats.

Investigators describe a system that combined bulk cash deliveries, cryptocurrency transfers and payments from business bank accounts. Brokers allegedly used banknote serial numbers as identification codes and receipts for cash handoffs. Couriers collected or delivered currency, while managers arranged corresponding payments elsewhere.

The affidavit details 11 undercover transactions directly brokered by Kulizhnikov between July 2024 and September 2025. Cash deliveries in New York and Florida totaled approximately $1.55 million, with payouts made in Tether’s USDT after commissions. The cash was government money represented to be drug proceeds.

A separate transaction allegedly brought the operation into the banking system. In June 2026, investigators transferred approximately 178,600 USDT to a wallet supplied by Kulizhnikov. An undercover bank account in Virginia then received four wire transfers totaling $175,000 from four U.S. business accounts. According to the affidavit, Kulizhnikov requested separate fraudulent invoices describing the transfers as payments for marketing services.

In August 2026, Kulizhnikov allegedly collected $100,000 in purported cocaine proceeds during a meeting in an Alexandria, Virginia, parking lot. Investigators say he subsequently transferred 94,500 USDT to an undercover wallet, retaining a 5.5% commission.

The filing also cites a publicly posted transaction ledger containing approximately 12,165 entries dated between April 2024 and August 2025. Its U.S. dollar entries totaled approximately $148.7 million. Investigators linked 37 entries, totaling approximately $1.5 million, to Kulizhnikov’s alleged alias, “Panprezident1.”

A confidential source estimated that the JUST Team laundered approximately $50 million daily. That figure is a source estimate reported in the affidavit, rather than a total established by the documented undercover transactions. The source was cooperating in hopes of obtaining sentencing consideration.

The affidavit states that FinCEN records showed no money services business registration for Kulizhnikov or his company, U.S. MTEX GROUP LLC, for the period reviewed. The complaint’s separate charge of conspiracy to conduct an unlicensed money transmitting business names a defendant whose identity is redacted; it does not name Kulizhnikov on that charge.

The allegations have not been adjudicated. Kulizhnikov is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Readers are encouraged not to confuse the defendant with Pavel Aleksandrovich Kulizhnikov, the Russian speed skater. The defendant’s patronymic is Alekseyevich