The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned Russia-linked A7 Network after FinCEN traced more than $17 billion in transactions through companies it says helped Russia, Iran and other actors move funds outside normal financial channels.
- FinCEN says A7 Sub-Agents processed more than $17 billion between January 2025 and June 2026.
- OFAC designated A7 Network a significant transnational criminal organization, blocking property held by U.S. persons.
- FinCEN proposed banning covered U.S. financial institutions from transmitting funds involving identified A7 Network Sub-Agents.
- A7A5 transactions totaled at least $179.1 billion across more than 180 entities, FinCEN found globally.
- The proposed rule enters a 30-day public comment period after publication in the Federal Register.
Treasury said on Oct. 1 that the action combines an Office of Foreign Assets Control designation with a proposed FinCEN restriction on transfers involving A7’s overseas Sub-Agents. The department described A7 as a shadow banking network built to hide sanctioned payments behind seemingly ordinary commercial transactions.
U.S. sanctions put A7 Network on OFAC’s blacklist
OFAC listed A7 Network as a transnational criminal organization, identifying operations connected with Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. The designation immediately subjects property and interests in property under U.S. jurisdiction to blocking requirements.
Companies owned 50% or more by blocked persons may be covered by the same restrictions. U.S. persons generally cannot transact with blocked entities unless OFAC authorizes an exemption or license.
Treasury said A7 was created and backed by sanctioned individuals to move funds around restrictions imposed on Russia. Its network relies on companies in third countries that FinCEN calls Sub-Agents, which receive or send payments while concealing the party that ultimately controls the transaction.
According to Treasury, A7 personnel controlled Sub-Agent websites and bank accounts and used custom virtual private networks to mask where staff were accessing the accounts. False import-export records, misleading product descriptions and fabricated trade documents were used to present restricted transfers as regular commercial activity.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the government intends to target financial infrastructure used by U.S. adversaries and warned that facilitators could “lose access to the U.S. financial system.” The statement describes Treasury’s enforcement position and does not by itself establish liability for every transaction involving the network.
FinCEN traced more than $17B through A7 companies
FinCEN proposed a special measure that would prohibit covered U.S. financial institutions from transmitting funds involving identified A7 Sub-Agents. The proposal covers both conventional funds and convertible virtual currency.
Its investigation found that A7-linked Sub-Agents processed more than $17 billion in dollar-denominated transactions between January 2025 and June 2026. TRM Labs, whose research was cited in FinCEN’s work, said A7 had created or acquired hundreds of Sub-Agents with accounts at roughly 435 financial institutions across at least 83 countries.
The network operated through jurisdictions including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Seychelles, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates, according to FinCEN. Companies could appear independent on paper while A7 personnel exercised operational control over their banking and payment infrastructure.
Treasury linked some of the transactions to Iran’s Central Bank and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. U.S. authorities said A7-linked companies had served Iranian oil sales, procurement networks, ransomware operators and other sanctioned parties.
One Sub-Agent and a related company received nearly $140 million from entities Treasury associated with Iranian sanctions evasion. A separate Sub-Agent transferred approximately $1.6 million to a company U.S. authorities linked with Iranian sanctions evasion and weapons procurement.
Treasury further said the network had connections to Nobitex, the Iranian digital-asset exchange sanctioned by OFAC in June, as well as transactions related to North Korean cryptocurrency hacks. The statements represent Treasury’s findings and sanctions determinations, not findings from a criminal trial.
A7A5 gave the network a crypto payment route
Crypto formed a separate part of A7’s payment system through A7A5, a ruble-backed token issued by Old Vector LLC.
Treasury said Old Vector was sanctioned in August 2025 and described A7A5 as blocked property. According to the department, the token was designed to let network members transact internationally while generating revenue for sanctioned infrastructure providers.
TRM Labs reported that FinCEN identified more than 180 entities that processed at least $179.1 billion in A7A5 transactions between February 2025 and June 2026. The crypto figure is not directly comparable with the $17 billion Sub-Agent figure because A7A5 can function alongside fiat settlement and may represent transfers within the same payment structure.
A7A5 had already attracted U.S. scrutiny before the Oct. 1 action. Earlier reporting found that the Russia-backed A7A5 stablecoin moved more than $6 billion despite U.S. sanctions after sanctions were imposed on entities tied to its payment infrastructure.
The token’s operators have published transaction figures far above estimates of economic activity from some blockchain researchers. In July, crypto.news reported that onchain analysts saw A7A5 activity fall sharply after sanctions, with researchers questioning how much reported volume represented transfers between independent users.
European authorities have targeted related activity as well. Previous EU scrutiny of crypto services tied to Russian sanctions evasion cited Chainalysis data putting transaction volume linked to A7A5 at $93.3 billion at the time.
FinCEN wants banks to block A7-linked transfers
The OFAC sanctions are already in force, but FinCEN’s separate payment restriction remains a proposal.
If finalized, the rule would prevent covered U.S. financial institutions from sending or receiving funds involving A7 Sub-Agents identified by FinCEN. The proposal includes accounts and crypto addresses administered on behalf of the companies.
FinCEN intends to provide financial institutions with information identifying known Sub-Agents. TRM said the regulator plans to update the list as companies are identified or removed, allowing banks and other covered firms to screen transactions against the network.
Alongside the proposed rule, FinCEN issued an alert describing red flags financial institutions can use to identify A7 activity. Its guidance covers shell companies with unexplained high-volume transactions, suspicious trade documentation, payment routes involving several countries and infrastructure tied to A7-controlled businesses.
Institutions filing related Suspicious Activity Reports have been asked to use the key term FIN-2026-A7NETWORK, which FinCEN added to its advisory terms on Oct. 1.
The latest U.S. measures follow action in the United Kingdom. British authorities issued an industry-wide warning on Aug. 31 describing A7’s use of financial companies in third countries to bypass restrictions on Russian entities.
Britain had previously sanctioned several businesses linked to the network, including crypto and financial companies operating from the UAE, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. The U.K. crackdown on A7-linked crypto and financial firms included entities authorities accused of helping route payments for Russia’s sanctioned economy.
FinCEN’s proposed U.S. transfer ban will enter a 30-day public comment period after its notice is published in the Federal Register. The agency lists the proposal under docket FINCEN-2026-0265, and no final rule has yet been issued.
