A7, a network formed in late 2024 by the sanctioned Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor, has connections to Russia’s state-owned Promsvyazbank, which is linked closely to the nation’s defense operations.
According to findings by the FT, A7 utilized a series of companies and bank accounts to facilitate international money transfers for Russian businesses, effectively sidestepping Western sanctions that were enacted following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The investigation revealed that “Standard Chartered, Citigroup and other international banks dealt with billions of dollars from a Kremlin-backed fintech company that deceived its way into the global financial system through an extensive forgery operation,” as reported by the FT.
Entities associated with A7 have reportedly moved at least $6.9 billion through international banking channels.
Just at Standard Chartered in Hong Kong, accounts linked to A7 received $1.1 billion between late 2024 and August 2025, while First Abu Dhabi Bank managed over $1.8 billion in payments from 17 entities connected to A7.
How the forgery operation worked
A7 capitalized on front companies situated in jurisdictions such as the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and Kyrgyzstan to gain access to banks associated with the SWIFT payment system.
When banks raised concerns about certain transactions, A7 employees allegedly provided forged invoices and documents to fabricate a credible paper trail. Employees modified product descriptions, customs codes, and other transaction specifics to evade sanctions scrutiny, according to the FT’s report.
In one instance, documentation for the procurement of 500 night-vision scopes for a Russian client was reportedly masked as transactions for different goods.
The network also tried to remove what they termed the “Russian trace” from documents by eliminating Cyrillic characters and similar identifiers.
Most of the funds eventually ended up in Chinese bank accounts, and A7 also employed Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the dollar, to ease transactions.
A7’s African expansion
In September 2025, A7 announced its expansion into Africa with the opening of offices in Lagos and Harare.
The Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) reported that these offices were inaugurated by Russian Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov and Promsvyazbank Deputy Chairman Mikhail Dorofeev. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later mentioned that Nigeria and Zimbabwe had “already joined” the A7 platform.
In Nigeria, A7 seems to operate through a local partner named Pilot Finance. Additionally, companies registered in Kyrgyzstan identified as A7 Africa and A7 Nigeria have a Nigerian businessman, Chidiebere Emmanuel Ajaere, listed as their owner.
In Zimbabwe, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was seen at the A7 office launch alongside Russian Deputy Finance Minister Chebeskov and the Russian ambassador to Zimbabwe, Nikolai Krasilnikov. Although it was reported that Nigeria’s Finance Minister Wale Edun attended the Nigerian opening, he later claimed he did not, as noted by CIR.
Therefore, while the African offices signify A7’s growing presence, they do not necessarily indicate that the identified $6.9 billion was specifically funneled through Nigeria or Zimbabwe. A7 maintains an online footprint in Nigeria, but the actual extent of its activities in both countries remains uncertain.
