US Treasury sanctions Russia-linked A7 payment system, designates it a transnational criminal organization
The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on the A7 payment system, a Russia-linked financial network that processed payments through international banks in 2024 and 2025. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the main goal of the action is the isolation of Iran and its financial partners.
Key points
- The US Treasury added the A7 payment system to its sanctions list and designated it as a transnational criminal organization.
- Russia used the A7 system to process payments through international banks in 2024 and 2025, according to the Treasury.
- As of January 2026, A7 reported more than 2,000 transactions per day, with total volume exceeding 7.5 trillion rubles (about $91.5 billion).
- A7's operations amounted to roughly 13% of Russia's foreign trade transactions in 2025.
- Russia moved an estimated $6.9 billion through the A7 system, the Treasury said.
- According to the Treasury, A7 used shell companies, forged trade documents and false goods descriptions to conceal sanctions-evading payments.
- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the main goal of the sanctions is the isolation of Iran and its financial partners.
Why it matters
The sanctions strike one of the largest known sanctions-evasion channels used by Russia, with A7 accounting for roughly 13% of Russia's foreign trade transactions in 2025. US officials explicitly framed the action as part of a broader effort to isolate Iran and its financial partners, linking the two sanctions-evasion ecosystems. The scale disclosed — more than $91.5 billion in transaction volume and over 2,000 daily operations — illustrates how extensive Russia's alternative payment rails had become. Related infrastructure, including the ruble-pegged A7A5 stablecoin and the Grinex exchange, points to the growing role of crypto-based tools and shell-company networks in moving value outside the regulated banking system.
What happened
The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the A7 payment system, designating it a transnational criminal organization. According to the Treasury, Russia used the A7 system to conduct payments through international banks in 2024 and 2025. As of January 2026, A7 reported more than 2,000 transactions per day, with total volume exceeding 7.5 trillion rubles (about $91.5 billion). A7's operations amounted to roughly 13% of Russia's foreign trade transactions in 2025. The Treasury said Russia moved an estimated $6.9 billion through the A7 system and that A7 used shell companies, forged trade documents and false goods descriptions to conceal sanctions-evading payments. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the main goal of the action is the isolation of Iran and its financial partners. The sanctions cover all property and interests of the A7 network that are in the US or controlled by Americans, including transactions involving sub-agents acting on behalf of the network, and extend to any entities owned 50% or more, individually or collectively, by blocked persons.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Both Ukrainian sources frame the story as a US action against a Russia-linked financial network, emphasizing the scale of sanctions evasion — the $90+ billion figure and the share of Russia's foreign trade processed by A7. The agency Interfax-Ukraine foregrounds the Iran-pressure angle, while the media outlets lead with the dollar volume of evaded transactions, highlighting the economic dimension.
Background
The A7A5 stablecoin was launched in February 2025 in Kyrgyzstan and was described as the first stablecoin pegged to the Russian ruble, backed by deposits at Promsvyazbank, a Russian defense-industry bank under US, UK and EU sanctions. The A7A5 token was reportedly created by Moldovan fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor and operated through the Grinex crypto exchange, also based in Kyrgyzstan. The US sanctions also extend to entities owned 50% or more by blocked persons and to sub-agents acting on behalf of the A7 network.