russia channelled $6.9 billion through international banks despite the sanctions

To this end, the russians used the A7 system as an alternative to the international payment system.

This is reported by the Financial Times in its investigation.

The Moldovan pro-russian oligarch Ilan Shor established the A7 system in russia and Kyrgyzstan with the help of the russian state-owned bank Promsvyazbank (PSB). In russia, the A7 system was actively promoted as a cross-border payment system for imports following the disconnection of russian banks from the SWIFT system after russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The FT reports that 100 A7 front companies carried out payments from late 2024 to August 2025. Payments were made in the UAE, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan.

Three companies operated in the UK. The UK government imposed sanctions on one of the three companies in May 2025. One company also operated in Hungary and served as a key channel for payments to the EU.

A7 set up a money-laundering scheme for the benefit of the russian government. Front companies transferred cash to banks connected to SWIFT. Invoices from russian companies were paid from these accounts. Some payments related to highly sensitive military goods, including military equipment and purchases by russian security services.

To ensure the payments went through, the front companies forged documents. They possessed company seals – both of ‘fake’ companies and of genuine companies, access to whose seals had been obtained by A7’s front companies.

The front companies also falsified information in the payment documents. For example, staff replaced the customs codes of goods subject to sanctions with the closest possible alternatives that were not subject to sanctions.

In this way, the companies paid for dual-use goods, such as night-vision sights, toughened glass and so on.

To avoid money-laundering checks by banks, the companies split the payments received into smaller amounts. For instance, one of the front companies split 20 million yuan into 12 payments, whilst another split the same amount into six payments.

A bank in the UAE told the FT that all accounts linked to A7 that had been uncovered had already been identified and closed.

“The bank takes appropriate measures and cooperates with the relevant authorities when issues of concern arise and where necessary,” the bank stated.

Standard Chartered, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank emphasised their firm commitment to anti-money laundering reporting but declined to comment.

A7 did not respond to requests for comment.

Source: Financial Times, Suspilne