US imposes sanctions on Russia-linked shadow banking network A7

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on the A7 network, which Washington calls a shadow banking system linked to Russia. According to US authorities, it was used to circumvent sanctions, sell Iranian oil, purchase weapons and other illegal financial transactions.

This was reported by the US Treasury Department.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated A7 as a transnational criminal organization. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the network is run by convicted fraudster Ilan Shor.

A7 created a network of subagent companies in various countries. The US agency claims that they forged trade documents to disguise illegal payments as normal commercial transactions.

According to A7’s own data, by the beginning of 2026, more than 2 thousand transactions were going through the system every day, and their total volume exceeded 7.5 trillion rubles, or about $91.5 billion.

The US Treasury Department said the network was used to sell Iranian oil through a “shadow fleet”, purchase weapons, service cybercriminals and transfer money through Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Nobitex.

From January 2025 to June 2026, A7 subagents conducted transactions worth over $17 billion.

The new restrictions block the assets of A7 and its related companies in US jurisdiction. American citizens and financial institutions are also prohibited from conducting transactions with them.