U.S. Treasury Cracks Down on Russian Shadow Banking Network Funding Iran
FinCEN said the network processed over $17 billion in 15 months while using shell companies, crypto and fake trade records to move funds for Iran and Russia.
- On Thursday, the Department of the Treasury moved to shut down the A7 Network, a sprawling shadow banking operation accused of funneling tens of billions of dollars overseas for Iran and Russia.
- Carried out under Operation Economic Outcast, the enforcement action targets a financial pipeline led by Ilan Mironovich Shor, a convicted fraudster, utilizing dozens of third-country shell companies called "Sub-Agents" to disguise illicit transfers.
- By early 2026, the A7 Network claimed it was running more than 2,000 transactions a day, totaling 7.5 trillion rubles—roughly $91.5 billion—representing about 13 percent of Russia's entire 2025 foreign trade volume.
- Simultaneously, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed a rule to bar financial transfers tied to the group's intermediary firms, following a related alert issued last month by the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency.
- Investigators found that the Central Bank of Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and militant groups like Hamas used A7 pathways to move money, while the network also handled transactions tied to North Korean digital asset thefts.
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30 Articles
The US Treasury announced that it has designated the A7 banking network as a "significant transnational criminal organization." According to the ministry, it is headed by Ilan Sor, a former Moldovan politician previously convicted of embezzling billions of euros. The "shadow banking" network consists of so-called subagents, or companies from third countries, that are designed to disguise payments related to sanctioned sectors and individuals as …
Over $91.5 billion was spent through a network of firms created by Russian company A7.
The US imposed sanctions on the Russian payment system A7Washington blocked the assets of the A7 system through which Russia made international payments. The network declared the total volume of operations in excess of $90 billion.
The U.S. Department of Foreign Assets Control has imposed sanctions on Russia-affiliated company A7 and its sou...
U.S. designates Russia-linked sanctions-evasion payment network A7 a ‘significant transnational criminal organization’
The U.S. Treasury Department has designated A7, a Russia-linked payment network created to evade sanctions, a “significant transnational criminal organization.”
The Russian A7 payment network has been listed as a transnational criminal organization through this system, with a total of $91.5 billion in transactions to circumvent the sanctions.
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