US designates Russia's A7 Network a criminal group, targets A7A5 ruble token
In brief
- OFAC designated Russia's A7 Network a significant transnational criminal organization on Thursday.
- Iran and the IRGC used the Russian shadow banking operation to evade sanctions, Treasury said.
- FinCEN proposed a rule barring transfers involving A7's Sub-Agents, covering fiat and crypto.
- At least $179.1 billion in A7A5 was processed between February 2025 and June 2026, FinCEN found.
- Roughly 348,000 institutions would be bound by the proposed rule, now open for public comment.
A rule that reaches crypto
FinCEN acted under section 9714 of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, choosing the sixth of six available special measures: a transmittal-of-funds prohibition. OFAC's designation listed addresses in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
It's a proposed rule, not a final one.
The comment period closes 30 days after it's published in the Federal Register. TRM Labs noted that the fifth measure (restricting correspondent accounts) would've left a gap, since A7A5 transactions move outside correspondent banking entirely. The sixth covers fiat and crypto alike, and the proposed rule would bind roughly 348,000 institutions, crypto exchanges included.
Today, Treasury took unprecedented action against the A7 Network, a shadow banking network with ties to Russia used by the Iranian regime to evade sanctions as part of Operation Economic Outcast.
The ruble token
A7A5 is a ruble-backed token issued by Kyrgyz-registered Old Vector. It runs on Tron and Ethereum, with deposits held at Promsvyazbank (Russia's state-owned defense bank). FinCEN described a mirror system where tokens moved between addresses inside Russia to represent payments abroad, while Sub-Agents made the matching fiat transfers.
FinCEN found more than 180 entities processed at least $179.1 billion in A7A5 between February 2025 and June 2026, historically almost all through sanctioned exchanges Garantex and Grinex. The token was most often used as a non-freezable bridge into USDT and then fiat. After a reported hack at Grinex in April, supply consolidated into unhosted wallets.
Iran, weapons and North Korea
According to FinCEN, A7 created or acquired hundreds of Sub-Agents with accounts at about 435 financial institutions in at least 83 countries, processing more than $17 billion between January 2025 and June 2026. Staff ran those accounts from Moscow over custom VPNs that made activity appear to originate in Dubai, Hong Kong or Bishkek.
Treasury said one Sub-Agent dealt with entities tied to Iran's shadow tanker fleet and, with a sister company, received close to $140 million from firms involved in Iranian sanctions evasion. Another sent about $1.6 million to a company linked to weapons procurement, Treasury said. It also tied the network to Nobitex (the Iranian exchange it designated in June) and to laundering proceeds from North Korean exchange hacks.
Fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor and Promsvyazbank launched the network in September 2024. Its own stated historical volume of 7.5 trillion rubles, about $91.5 billion, would equal roughly an eighth of Russia's foreign trade last year. The EU previously sanctioned parts of the network, and the UK's National Crime Agency issued an alert in August.
Frequently asked questions
What is the A7A5 token?
A7A5 is a ruble-backed token issued by Kyrgyz-registered Old Vector, running on Tron and Ethereum. Its deposits are held at Promsvyazbank, Russia's state-owned defense bank. FinCEN said it was most often used as a non-freezable bridge into USDT and then fiat.
Why did FinCEN choose the sixth special measure against A7?
TRM Labs noted that the fifth measure, restricting correspondent accounts, would have left a gap because A7A5 transactions move outside correspondent banking entirely. The sixth measure, a transmittal-of-funds prohibition, covers both fiat and crypto.
Is FinCEN's rule against the A7 Network final?
No. It's a proposed rule. The comment period closes 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, and the rule as proposed would bind roughly 348,000 institutions, including crypto exchanges.
