The A7 payment network, backed by the Kremlin and operated by Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, moved more than $6.9 billion through international banks, using forged invoices and a global network of front companies to circumvent sanctions against Russia, according to a Financial Times investigation based on leaked internal documents.
A7 was established in late 2024 as an alternative payment infrastructure after Russian banks were cut off from the SWIFT financial messaging system following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The platform was established by Shor with backing from Russia’s state-owned Promsvyazbank, according to the investigation.
The network relied on intermediary companies across several countries to process the transactions. The documents examined by the Financial Times identify companies in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan and Indonesia, among other jurisdictions. More than half of the financial flows reportedly ended up in accounts at Chinese banks.
One of the largest channels was First Abu Dhabi Bank, through which more than $1.8 billion was transferred. Accounts at Standard Chartered received around $1.1 billion from A7-linked entities between late 2024 and August 2025. (Financial Times)
The leaked documents also contain evidence of payments for goods with potential military applications. In February 2025, A7 reportedly facilitated a payment of 3.6 million yuan, or approximately $510,000, for 500 night-vision devices intended for a Russian customer.
According to the investigation, A7 employees allegedly disguised some purchases to avoid banking checks, describing military-related goods as tempered glass products or footwear and altering customs codes and other information in transaction documents. (Financial Times)
The network reportedly used a broad system of front companies and forged invoices to conceal the nature and destination of transactions. The Financial Times found evidence of around 100 A7-linked front companies, with additional entities identified in several jurisdictions. (Financial Times)
Representatives of First Abu Dhabi Bank and DBS told the Financial Times that accounts associated with A7 had already been closed. Other major financial institutions, including Standard Chartered and Citigroup, declined to comment. (Financial Times)
Commenting to Russian newspaper Kommersant, Ilan Shor said he did not believe sanctions against the system would be lifted and argued that even if they were, this would not reduce demand for A7’s services.
“I don’t think this will happen. But even if, hypothetically, we imagine that the sanctions are lifted, this would not affect demand for our service in any way. The sanctions were only an impetus, a trigger for the development of the system, but it would have been relevant without them as well, and today we can already see that,” Shor said.