A Kremlin-backed fintech company named A7 has been identified as operating a vast document forgery scheme, enabling it to move over $6.9 billion through the global financial system despite sanctions on Russia. This operation, set up as an alternative to the Western payments system, relied on hundreds of thousands of forged documents and a network of over 100 front companies, including 61 in the UAE and 87 in Hong Kong, to trick international banks into processing transactions. A7, founded by Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor with support from Promsvyazbank (PSB), a state-owned Russian bank, claims to handle nearly a fifth of Russia's foreign exchange transactions.
Major international banks unknowingly processed these funds. For instance, Standard Chartered in Hong Kong 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. Deutsche Bank in Europe processed about $18 million. First Abu Dhabi, the largest bank in the United Arab Emirates, saw more than $1.8 billion in outbound payments from 17 different A7 entities. JPMorgan Chase and DBS were also involved.
The scheme involved depositing cash at banks within the SWIFT system via front companies, then using these funds to settle bills for Russian businesses abroad, with over half of these flows ultimately ending up in Chinese bank accounts. A7 also issued promissory notes with a face value exceeding $20 billion and facilitated the sale of billions in Tether, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, to Russian buyers. This elaborate system, described by former US government banking analyst Zach Tvarozna as a money-laundering network much larger than previously realized, highlights the challenges of maintaining integrity in traditional correspondent banking.
