Kuznetsov, who chaired the UN' Budget Oversight Committee, has been indicted by a New York court for laundering money he received from a UN procurement official, who had taken bribes from companies seeking UN contracts, through an offshore company in 2000.
Lawyer Steven Kobre said U.S. law allowed the defense team to either appeal the ruling with a higher court or demand retrial in the same court. In the latter case it will be trial without jury.
Russia's Consulate General in New York earlier expressed concerns about the jury that brought in the verdict in just less then an hour's time. The consulate also said the jury had not taken into account defense witnesses' testimony in Kuznetsov's favor.
Kurznetsov was arrested in the United States on September 1, 2005 after the procurement officer, fellow Russian Alexander Yakovlev, pleaded guilty and testified against him amid a scandal over an oil-for-food program to Iraq that rocked the global organization.
Then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan lifted his diplomatic immunity before his arrest.
Kuznetsov pleaded not guilty and was released on $1.5 million bail from the Russian government. He has been in New York under house arrest since.
The judge said sentencing would be June 25. The former diplomat faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
