LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY A7

The A7 cross-border payment network is a specialized russian financial infrastructure created in late 2024 to facilitate foreign trade settlements and circumvent Western sanctions. The official founders were Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor (convicted in absentia in Moldova) and the sanctioned russian state-owned PSB Bank PJSC (Promsvyazbank). In the russian corporate registry, PSB holds a 49% stake, while information about the majority owner is concealed in accordance with russian law (Shor initially held 51%).
The network’s activities are publicly supported by the russian government and russian president vladimir putin, who participated in the opening of one of its branches via video link.
The A7 network is a leading instrument for the russian federation’s gray-market transactions. The organization processes nearly 20% of all of russia’s foreign trade payments, amounting to over 100 billion U.S. dollars (about 7 trillion rubles) per year (in its first year of operation, the company reported transactions totaling over 86 billion U.S. dollars). About 65% of payments are made in Chinese yuan (and the share of transactions with China accounts for 78% of all transactions), with transfers to China taking 4 hours.
To conduct its operations, A7 uses a network of shell companies in third countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Hong Kong, the UAE, as well as other countries in Central Asia and West Africa.
To conceal the true purpose of shipments of military goods (in particular, components for drones), the network uses artificial intelligence to create forged invoices with realistic seals. Specifically, in March 2025, a Kyrgyz firm controlled by A7 transferred $1 million to a Chinese supplier for UAV parts, disguising the payment as a purchase of car polish and child car seats.
At the same time, the network uses cryptocurrency tools: the A7A5 digital token (pegged to the ruble) and its exchange for Tether (USDT) stablecoins. The volume of transactions through just one of the A7A5 token exchange services exceeded $2.2 billion. The network also uses the Grinex and Garantex cryptocurrency platforms.
The A7 has opened its first overseas offices in Nigeria and Zimbabwe and plans to expand into Latin America and the Middle East; it is opening offices in major cities across russia, as well as in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in Donetsk and Sevastopol.