John Can Unsalan, a/k/a Hurrem Can Unsalan, 41, from Orlando and head of Metalhouse LLC, admitted to conspiring in money laundering activities that violated U.S. sanctions. He was involved in transactions exceeding $150 million in metal products from businesses owned by the sanctioned oligarch Sergey Kurchenko, who faced sanctions from the Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in 2015 due to misappropriation of Ukrainian state assets.
A grand jury in Florida indicted John Can Unsalan on April 13 with multiple counts, including violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and international money laundering. From July 2018 to October 2021, Unsalan collaborated with others to transfer over $150 million to Kurchenko and his sanctioned firms. Despite being aware of the sanctions, Unsalan traded with Kurchenko’s entities to obtain steel equipment and materials. Profits from these illegal transactions were shared among Unsalan and his associates. No OFAC licenses were sought or granted for these dealings.
In Orlando, Florida, before U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger, Unsalan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which could lead to a 20-year prison term. He also consented to forfeit over $160 million, the proceeds from the conspiracy. As per the plea agreement, the remaining indictment counts will be dismissed. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge after reviewing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other relevant factors.
On September 13, Sergey Karpushkin, a co-conspirator, also pleaded guilty and agreed to forfeit over $4.7 million.
The investigation is part of the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, which focuses on enforcing sanctions and economic countermeasures against Russia due to its military invasion of Ukraine. The task force, announced on March 2, 2022, aims to counteract efforts to bypass or undermine U.S. government actions in response to Russian military actions.
