A7 Reportedly Routed $6.9 Billion Through Global Banks
A7 Reportedly Routed $6.9 Billion Through Global Banks
Anonymous
Key Points
1
A7 exploited a structural weakness in the SWIFT system: once a front company or legitimate intermediary passed the sending bank’s customer checks, A7 could use that access to route payments through the network.
2
A7 was launched in October 2024 by Promsvyazbank, a heavily sanctioned Russian state-owned bank, with additional financial backing from the Kremlin development institution VEB.RF.
3
A7 is majority-owned and led by Ilan Shor, who was convicted in Moldova in 2014 of helping siphon roughly $1 billion from the country’s banks in a scandal known as “the theft of the century.”
4
First Abu Dhabi Bank held accounts for 17 A7-linked entities, which together made more than $1.8 billion in outbound payments; the bank told the Financial Times that it had identified and closed all of those accounts.
5
Shor has publicly claimed that A7 moved $86 billion in total since its launch, a figure substantially higher than the $6.9 billion identified in the leaked records reviewed by the Financial Times.
A Kremlin-backed payments group called A7 moved more than $6.9 billion through major global banks despite international sanctions on Russia, according to Financial Times investigation based on leaked internal files. The group, established in late 2024 by Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor with backing from Russia's state-owned Promsvyazbank, used front companies and forged invoices to slip past compliance checks at institutions including Standard Chartered, DBS, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
A7 exploited a critical weakness in the SWIFT banking system. Once a front company or legitimate business passed a bank's customer checks, A7 could use that access to route payments through the network undetected. Some transactions were tied to purchases of Russian military equipment and security services, according to United24media.
How A7 Bypassed Global Banking Safeguards
A7 created a sophisticated money laundering operation by using fake documents and shell companies. According to PYMNTS, the group would establish front entities that passed initial bank screening. These entities then gained access to SWIFT — the global messaging system for international payments. Once inside the system, A7 could move money freely.
The records show A7-linked accounts at First Abu Dhabi Bank alone handled more than $1.8 billion in outbound payments. Standard Chartered accounts in Hong Kong received $1.1 billion from the network, according to The Banker. First Abu Dhabi Bank later said it identified and closed all 17 A7-linked accounts.
The Man Behind the Kremlin's Payment Scheme
Ilan Shor, a Moldovan oligarch, leads A7 despite a criminal past. In 2014, Moldovan courts convicted him of helping steal roughly $1 billion from the country's banks — a scandal locals called "the theft of the century." Shor now runs A7 as majority owner and executive leader, backed by Russia's state institutions.
Shor has claimed A7 moved $86 billion total since its October 2024 launch. That figure is substantially higher than the $6.9 billion documented in Financial Times leaked records. The discrepancy raises questions about how much illicit money the network may have actually moved.
Major Banks Caught in Sanctions-Evasion Network
Seven of the world's largest financial institutions processed A7 transactions. United24media reports that Standard Chartered, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, DBS, and First Abu Dhabi Bank all handled billions in payments from the Kremlin-backed network. Most banks declined detailed comment beyond citing their anti-money-laundering controls.
First Abu Dhabi Bank was the most exposed, with 17 A7-linked entities conducting business through its accounts. The bank told Financial Times it identified and closed all those accounts once the scheme was uncovered. The other institutions have faced pressure to explain how such large sums moved through their systems undetected.
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