Russia uses cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions: new “ruble” stablecoin has already withdrawn over nine billion dollars
Фото: Pixabay
Fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, who is under sanctions and wanted in his homeland, has emerged as the author of a new global scheme to circumvent sanctions against Russia.
This is reported by the Financial Times .
It is noted that Shor launched the cryptocurrency stablecoin A7A5 , which has already processed over $9.3 billion in transactions. The main goal is to help Russia avoid Western financial restrictions.
A7A5 is the world’s first stablecoin pegged to the Russian ruble. It was officially launched in February 2025 on the Grinex crypto exchange in Kyrgyzstan.
The token is backed by money from Promsvyazbank, a Russian defense bank that is under sanctions from the US, EU, and UK. Despite this, 12 billion tokens are already in circulation, which is equivalent to $156 million.
Analysts note that the A7A5 stablecoin is being used by Russia not only to circumvent sanctions, but also, probably, to finance information campaigns of influence abroad. The British Center for Information Resilience has identified a coincidence of the technical infrastructure of the A7 crypto project and sites related to political activity in Moldova.
The investigation shows that the exchange of A7A5 for the dollar-backed stablecoin USDT allows Russian companies to make international payments despite bank blockades and SWIFT shutdowns. The transactions occur mainly during the working hours of Moscow offices, further indicating the centralized nature of the scheme.
Shor, who was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison for corruption in Moldova, is currently in Moscow. He has publicly stated that he is building a “new financial system” that is resistant to sanctions, where cryptocurrency will be just one of the directions. In parallel, A7 is expanding its activities in the UAE, Kyrgyzstan and the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
Experts warn: A7A5 is more than a token. It is a hybrid warfare tool that mixes shadow finance, geopolitics, and digital technologies.
It was previously reported that Russia is using cryptocurrencies in oil trade with China and India to circumvent Western sanctions .
As a reminder, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that Russian companies have begun using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for international payments . This became possible after legislative changes were made to counter Western sanctions.
The day before, it became known that the Russian authorities had begun to transfer trade with China to cryptocurrency .
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