U.S. designates Russia-linked sanctions-evasion payment network A7 a ‘significant transnational criminal organization’
The U.S. Treasury Department has designated A7, a Russia-linked payment network created to evade sanctions, a “significant transnational criminal organization.”
The designation will make it possible to bar U.S. financial institutions from making any transfers involving A7’s “Sub-Agents,” foreign shell companies through which the network processes payments for clients in Russia.
The restrictions on A7 were formally imposed as part of sanctions targeting Iran. The Treasury Department said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and central bank used the network’s services.
Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor launched A7 in 2024, with Russia’s Promsvyazbank also taking part. The network consists of hundreds of companies in third countries that process payments for clients in Russia. By Promsvyazbank’s own estimate, A7 processed 7.5 billion rubles in payments in the first half of 2025.
The Russian company A7 itself and A7A5, the ruble-denominated stablecoin it created, have been under U.S. sanctions since August 2025.
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