US labels Russia-linked payment network A7 a 'significant transnational criminal organization'
The US Treasury Department has designated the Russia-linked payment network A7, built to evade sanctions, as a significant transnational criminal organization. The move was made as part of sanctions targeting Iran.
The U.S. Treasury Department has designated A7, a Russia-linked payment network, as a "significant transnational criminal organization." The network was set up to help evade international sanctions.
The designation allows the United States to prohibit American financial institutions from processing transfers connected to A7's so-called "Sub-Agents" — foreign shell companies through which the network handles payments for clients inside Russia.
The restrictions on A7 were formally introduced as part of a broader sanctions package aimed at Iran. The Treasury Department stated that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the country's central bank had used the network's services.
Origins and scale
A7 was launched in 2024 by Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, with Russia's Promsvyazbank also participating. The network comprises hundreds of companies registered in third countries that process payments on behalf of clients in Russia. According to Promsvyazbank's own figures, A7 processed 7.5 billion rubles in payments during the first half of 2025.
Both the A7 company itself and A7A5, the ruble-pegged stablecoin it created, have already been under U.S. sanctions since August 2025.
