To Evade Sanctions, the Kremlin Turns to Convicted Money Launderer Ilan Shor
3 days ago
- #russia
- #sanctions-evasion
- #money-laundering
- A7, a Russian cross-border payments service, was launched by Promsvyazbank (PSB) to facilitate sanctions evasion for Russian businesses.
- A7 is financially backed by VEB.RF and has received public support from the Kremlin, including Vladimir Putin.
- Ilan Shor, a convicted fraudster and money launderer, leads A7 despite his criminal background.
- Shor was involved in a billion-dollar fraud scheme in Moldova and has since been linked to political interference in Moldova.
- A7 claims to have facilitated over 7 trillion rubles (approximately $86 billion) in transactions, mainly with China.
- A7 has expanded operations into occupied Ukrainian territories, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Kyrgyzstan, launching its own cryptocurrency, A7A5.
- Western governments, including the U.S., U.K., and EU, have imposed sanctions on A7 and its subsidiaries, but the company continues to operate.
- A7 uses a network of shell companies, particularly in the UAE, to obscure payment origins, resembling trade-based money laundering.
- The involvement of Shor and A7's opaque methods raise trust issues among Russian businesses and foreign counterparts.
- A7's dual nature—acting as a legitimate business in Russia and a potential money laundering network abroad—creates vulnerabilities that could be exploited to disrupt its operations.