US Adds Russian Payment System A7 to Iran Sanctions List

The US Treasury has sanctioned Russian payment system A7, saying Iran used it to work around sanctions. For high-risk payment providers, the important part is not the label but the mechanics: OFAC is now treating A7 as part of a wider network rather than as a set of isolated entities.

1. According to the US Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned A7 as part of “Operation Prosperity Outflow,” a campaign targeting Iran and those working with it. The department describes A7 as a “shadow banking network tied to Russia and used by Iran to evade sanctions.”
2. The US says A7’s global network of subagents was built to mask payments linked to sanctioned persons and sectors as ordinary commercial activity. Treasury also says Iran, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, used the payment system to evade sanctions and move funds. OFAC labels A7 a “major transnational criminal organization.”
3. The sanctions freeze A7’s assets in the US and bar US individuals and companies from conducting any transactions with the network. In practice, that means the usual OFAC consequences: access to the US financial system is cut off, and counterparties in other jurisdictions tend to reassess exposure fast.
4. A7 was created in 2024 by PSB as a cross-border transfer payment system. The bank described it as a service helping “Russian exporters and importers carry out settlements with foreign partners in a timely and uninterrupted manner.”
5. In early 2025, the company launched A7A5, a stablecoin pegged to the Russian ruble. In August, PSB chief Petr Fradkov told RBC that A7A5 had turned over almost $140 billion since launch and that the token was the largest non-dollar stablecoin. In August 2025, OFAC also added several A7-linked entities to its sanctions list, while the EU sanctioned A7 in July 2025.

The EU said A7 had “numerous ties to Moscow” and was used in a scheme to buy votes during Moldova’s presidential election and the referendum on EU accession. RBC also reported that Ilan Shor is the CEO of A7-Agent, the company that owns A7.