Russia-linked network moved $6.9 billion through global banks using forged invoices - FT
A Russia-linked payment network moved more than $6.9 billion through the international banking system using front companies and forged documents to evade sanctions, according to a Financial Times investigation based on hundreds of thousands of leaked internal files.
The network centered on A7, a Russian payment system created after many Russian banks were cut off from the SWIFT international payments network following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A7 is majority-owned and led by Ilan Shor, a fugitive Moldovan oligarch convicted over his role in the disappearance of about $1 billion from Moldovan banks. The company was launched with Russia's sanctioned state-owned Promsvyazbank, which serves the country's defense industry.
According to the FT investigation, A7 used a network of more than 100 front companies and existing businesses in Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, the UK and elsewhere to regain access to the international banking system.
The companies deposited money with banks connected to SWIFT, allowing payments to be made on behalf of Russian businesses abroad. Many of the transactions ultimately went to accounts in China.
The operation used forged invoices and other documents designed to make transactions appear legitimate during bank compliance checks.
In one case, internal A7 messages reviewed by the FT showed employees discussing a roughly $510,000 payment for 500 night-vision sights in February 2025. Documents were altered to make the purchase appear to involve ordinary glass.
Some transactions identified in the leaked files were linked to military equipment and security services.
The files also show A7-linked entities in Hong Kong sent $1.1 billion to Standard Chartered between late 2024 and August 2025, according to the investigation. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan were among other major international banks named in the leaked records.
The findings do not necessarily mean the banks knowingly processed sanctions-evading transactions. The scheme relied on companies and falsified paperwork intended to make payments appear legitimate.
A7 was presented in Russia as an alternative mechanism for international settlements after Western sanctions restricted Russian access to the global financial system.
Shor has claimed that A7 has processed $86 billion since its launch. The FT investigation traced more than $6.9 billion in payments through the international banking system using the leaked records.