Standard Chartered, Citigroup, and other international banks processed billions of dollars for A7, a Kremlin-backed fintech company, which infiltrated the global financial system through extensive document forgery. This scheme allowed over $6.9 billion to be funneled through the international banking system despite sanctions against Russia.
Hundreds of thousands of files obtained by the Financial Times from inside A7, a group established as an alternative to the Western payments system, detail how it utilized traditional money laundering techniques. The funds moved through banks like Standard Chartered in Hong Kong, which received $1.1 billion from A7-linked entities between late 2024 and August 2025. DBS in Hong Kong was sent $273 million, and Citigroup clients received $74 million.
A7 was founded in Russia and Kyrgyzstan by Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, with support from Promsvyazbank (PSB). The scheme involved a network of at least 100 A7 front companies that made payments, with documents mentioning hundreds more, including 61 in the UAE, 87 in Hong Kong, 16 in Kyrgyzstan, and 14 in Indonesia. Some of the payments were reportedly connected to sensitive war-related goods, such as military equipment and purchases by Russia's security services, with over half of the funds ultimately destined for Chinese bank accounts.
