The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions on the Russia-linked A7 cryptocurrency platform, which Washington describes as a “shadow banking network with ties to Russia used by the Iranian regime to evade sanctions.” The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), designated A7 as a significant transnational criminal organization. The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, proposed banning certain fund transfers involving the network’s subagents and issued banks a list of indicators for identifying suspicious transactions linked to A7.
A7 is run by fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, who resides in Russia. The network relies heavily on subagents — companies in third countries that use falsified trade documents to disguise payments involving sanctioned entities as ordinary commercial transactions. A7 itself said that as of January 2026, it was processing more than 2,000 transactions a day worth a combined 7.5 trillion rubles ($89.5 billion) — equivalent to about 13% of Russia’s foreign trade in 2025. More than $17 billion passed through the subagents from January 2025 through June 2026.
The U.S. Treasury said the network was also used by Iran’s central bank, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Tehran-backed groups, including Hamas, as well as by cybercriminals. One subagent worked with participants in Iran’s “shadow fleet,” receiving nearly $140 million. Another transferred about $1.6 million to a company linked to weapons procurement for Iran.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said:
“Today’s action targeting A7 continues Treasury’s unprecedented efforts to isolate Iran and its financial enablers and sends a clear message that if you facilitate illicit finance for America’s adversaries, you will lose access to the U.S. financial system.”
In July, the European Union imposed sanctions on Leonid Shumakov, head of the A7A5 stablecoin, the companies A7 Agent and A71, and Mikhail Dorofeyev, deputy chairman of Promsvyazbank (PSB). The A7 payment network was created in late 2024 by PSB and Shor. In April, The Financial Times reported that the network was building infrastructure in Africa and identified Dorofeyev at the opening of its office in Nigeria.
