Last Updated on October 5, 2026 by TMB
The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on the A7 fintech company, backed by the Kremlin, designating it a transnational criminal organization that uses shadow banking to process suspicious transactions. The Treasury states that the network, with ties to Russia, also helps the Iranian regime evade sanctions.
In an official press release, the Treasury said its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has now proposed a rule barring all transactions linked to Sub-Agents controlled by the A7 Network. FinCEN also issued an alert to help financial institutions detect and report related transactions or activity.
According to Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury:
“Treasury is dismantling the financial infrastructure that allows Iran and other adversaries to evade sanctions, move illicit funds, and undermine the integrity of the global financial system. Today’s action targeting A7 continues Treasury’s unprecedented efforts to isolate Iran and its financial enablers and sends a clear message that if you facilitate illicit finance for America’s adversaries, you will lose access to the US financial system.”
A7 Uses Sub-Agents to Evade Detection
The release explains that the A7 Network has a “global web of Sub-Agents,” essentially companies created to hide transactions linked to several sanctioned parties, making them hard to distinguish from everyday commercial transactions. Specifically, the Sub-Agents use doctored records for imports and exports, edited trade documents, and deliberately include ambiguous or deceptive descriptions of goods.
Treasury specifically mentions that Russia and Iran use the A7 Network. As of January 2026, the A7 Network says it processes over 2,000 daily transactions worth 7.5 billion rubles, about $91.5 billion. The release said this is nearly 13% of Russia’s total foreign trade transactions in 2025.
On Iran, Treasury specifies that the A7 Sub-Agents facilitate transactions for the Central Bank of Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), and several terrorist organizations backed by Iran. Furthermore, Treasury has evidence that Iran used these Sub-Agents to facilitate weapons procurements and oil sales. At least one of these Sub-Agents conducted transactions with a few entities connected to Iran’s shadow fleet of shipping companies and tankers used to circumvent US and international sanctions. This particular agent and a related company pulled in about $140 million from related entities, while a different Sub-Agent transferred about $1.6 million to another company connected to Iran’s sanctions-evasion efforts.
Actionable Effects of Sanctions
In addition to transactions tied to governments, A7 has also used its Sub-Agents for other illicit activity carried out by a range of cybercriminals who use ransomware and other methods to facilitate transactions for restricted goods. The A7 Network processed over $17 billion in global transactions between January 2025 and June 2026.
Following the actions taken against A7, all related interests and property in the United States have been blocked and must be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In addition, the government is blocking all entities directly or indirectly owned by any connected persons. Violators may face civil or criminal penalties, while anyone who provides useful information may receive an award if the information results in a successful action for monetary penalties over $1 million.
