Kremlin-backed Russian fintech company A7 has routed more than $6.9 billion through the international banking system to bypass sanctions, an investigation by the Financial Times has revealed.
The scheme relied on traditional money-laundering techniques and large-scale document forgery to secure access to global banking networks. Recipients of the funds included clients of major Western and Asian financial institutions, including Standard Chartered, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank.
According to the investigation, a portion of the transactions involved highly sensitive war-related goods, including military equipment and procurements for Russian intelligence services.
Counterfeit invoices and shell companies
A7 publicly promoted its financial innovations, but the company actually operated through a network of shell companies and active businesses to gain access to SWIFT. SWIFT is the Belgium-based global messaging network that financial institutions rely on to execute cross-border money transfers.
To conceal the intermediaries involved in the transactions, A7 established a continuous pipeline for manufacturing counterfeit invoices.
Leaked records show that accounts at Standard Chartered in Hong Kong received the largest volume of funds, taking in $1.1 billion from entities linked to A7 between the company's creation in late 2024 and August 2025. Standard Chartered is a London-headquartered banking group with extensive corporate operations across Asian financial centers.
During the same timeframe, DBS in Hong Kong received $273 million, Citigroup clients received $74 million, and Deutsche Bank clients in Europe received about $18 million. Information in the leak indicates that A7 also maintained access to accounts at JPMorgan Chase and DBS.
Middle East banking hubs
Journalists drew particular attention to First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates. A7 opened accounts at the UAE institution for 17 different corporate entities, which then transferred more than $1.8 billion abroad.
Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor founded A7 in Russia and Kyrgyzstan as an alternative to Western financial payment channels. Shor is a Moldovan politician and businessman who has operated from abroad following financial fraud cases in his home country.
The initiative received support from state-owned Promsvyazbank, a major Russian commercial bank that is closely tied to the country's defence industry. In July, Shor told Russian state news agency TASS that the platform gave companies and countries freedom because the system was immune to sanctions.
The Kremlin has promoted A7 as its main provider for international import payments since Russian lenders were disconnected from SWIFT following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Financial Times noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed a Russian-Indian payment system with the head of Promsvyazbank earlier this month.
New Western sanctions
The exposure of the network comes alongside new legislative efforts in Washington and Brussels to intensify economic pressure on Moscow. On 18 September, US President Donald Trump signed a bill enacting severe sanctions against Russia, co-authored by the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
The American legislation imposes restrictions on senior Russian leadership, oligarchs and their families, banking and energy enterprises, and vessels belonging to the shadow fleet. The measure also targets buyers of Russian oil and gas, authorizing the president to levy tariffs of up to 100 percent on goods from top five energy purchasers and tariffs of up to 500 percent on Russian exports entering the United States.
Meanwhile, the European Union extended its existing sanctions against Russia for three years, replacing its previous requirement for renewals every six months. The EU sanctions list encompasses 3,000 individuals and legal entities.
However, the agreement required EU members to remove Russian billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the list. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the decision shameful and unjustified, urging individual EU member states to implement their own national sanctions against both oligarchs.
