U.S. Sanctions Russian Payments System A7 Under Iran-Related Measures

The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned the Russian payment system A7, calling it a “shadow banking system” used by Iran to evade sanctions. For high-risk PSPs, the key point is that OFAC is treating a payments platform, and the network around it, as sanctionable infrastructure rather than just a single company.

1. The sanctions were announced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in a press release. OFAC says A7 built a global network of “subagents” — companies created specifically to disguise payments linked to sanctioned sectors and individuals as ordinary commercial activity.
2. According to OFAC, the Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hamas used the company’s services. The agency also designated A7 as a “transnational criminal organization.”
3. The restrictions include asset freezes in the United States and a ban on U.S. persons doing business with the company’s subagents. In practice, that means the exposure is not limited to A7 itself; the surrounding entities are also in scope.
4. A7 is owned by A7-agent, whose CEO is Moldovan entrepreneur Ilan Shor. The platform says it allows transfers to any country with a 0.3% fee and offers what it calls the world’s first ruble stablecoin, A7A5.
5. A7A5 has been under U.S. Department of Justice sanctions since August last year. Before the latest move, A7 had already been hit by UK sanctions in May 2025 and EU sanctions in July 2025. In August 2025, the U.S. also sanctioned Grinex and Old Vector, which are linked to A7.