The U.S. Treasury Department has expanded sanctions against Russia-backed cross-border payments platform A7, prohibiting all transactions and labeling it a “transnational criminal organization” for allegedly helping Iran and cybercriminals process illicit global transactions.
“Today’s action targeting A7 continues Treasury’s unprecedented efforts to isolate Iran and its financial enablers,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement Thursday.
The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) alleged that A7 had built a massive global network of front companies and “sub-agents” to bypass Western banking restrictions.
They claimed the A7 network “created pathways” for Iran’s central bank, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as oil and weapons smuggling networks, to use its shadow banking channels to move illicit funds.
The Treasury also alleged that the A7 network “catered” to cybercriminals.
Treasury officials claimed A7 sub-agents processed more than $17 billion in global transactions between January 2025 and June 2026.
A7 was accused of using fake trade documents, import-export records and misleading goods descriptions through sub-agents to “disguise” illegal payments as normal business transactions.
Moscow-based A7 defended its business model and denied involvement with sanctioned Iranian entities in a statement.
“A7 categorically rejects any allegations that it has worked with Iran or terrorist organizations,” the company said.
The company said it was servicing “legitimate import and export operations involving consumer goods and commodities.”
A7 added that it was providing “uninterrupted payment settlements for the Russian market, which has been subject to unlawful restrictive measures.”
A7, set up in 2024 by the defense sector-focused bank Promsvyazbank, has become the leader in Russia’s cross-border payments market as the country seeks to develop alternative payment systems with its main trading partners.
Ilan Shor, a Moldovan businessman who was sentenced in Moldova to 15 years in prison for money laundering, owns 51% of the company. Shor fled Moldova first to Israel and then to Russia.
An investigation by The Washington Post reported that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) worked closely with Shor and helped finance his political activities.
The United States sanctioned Shor and his wife, Russian singer Jasmin, in 2022 for activities Washington said were aimed at destabilizing Moldova. Shor is also under European Union and British sanctions.
Last year, the U.S. sanctioned individual A7 entities for issuing a ruble-backed digital token called A7A5 and using it to bypass financial restrictions.
Reuters contributed reporting.
