šØ$93 Billion Was Moved Through a Stablecoin Nobody's Ever Heard Of Funding Drones in Ukraine Right NowšØ
Kremlin-Blessed Sanctions Evasion:
The most prominent Kremlin-blessed sanctions evasion scheme identified involves the A7 fintech company and its A7A5 cryptocurrency, a ruble-backed stablecoin launched in January 2025 to bypass Western financial restrictions. This operation is led by Ilan Shor, a fugitive Moldovan oligarch, and includes Promsvyazbank, a Russian state-owned bank tied to the military-industrial complex, with direct support from President Vladimir Putin, who attended the virtual opening of their Vladivostok branch in September 2025.
The scheme utilizes a parallel financial system routed through Kyrgyzstan, where the token is issued by the firm Old Vector, and trades on sanctioned exchanges like Garantex to facilitate anonymous transactions. By allowing Russian firms to convert rubles into A7A5 and instantly swap them for dollar-pegged stablecoins without Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, the network has reportedly processed over $79 billion in voluA Kremlin-blessed sanctions evasion scheme centers on A7, a Moscow-based fintech company launched in late 2024, which facilitates cross-border payments and builds a parallel financial system to bypass Western restrictions imposed after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The scheme relies heavily on A7A5, the world's first ruble-pegged stablecoin issued by a Kyrgyz firm, which recorded over $79 billion in volume by November 2025 and is backed by deposits from the sanctioned Promsvyazbank.
Key figures and operations driving this network include fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, who founded A7 after receiving Russian citizenship, and Promsvyazbank, a state-owned bank tied to Russia's military-industrial complex. The operation utilizes the cryptocurrency exchange Garantex to convert A7A5 into mainstream dollar-pegged stablecoins like USDT without Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, effectively anonymizing transactions for sanctioned Russian firms. The European Union sanctioned A7 and A7A5 in October 2024, citing the cryptocurrency as a "prominent tool for financing activities supporting Russia's war of aggression."
Beyond cryptocurrencies, the Kremlin employs complex ownership structures and shell companies to hide assets, such as a 2024 scheme involving oligarch Oleg Deripaska where a divestment attempt was exposed as a sham to unfreeze over $1.5 billion in shares. Additionally, illicit payment mechanisms link Russia and North Korea (DPRK) through entities like MRB Bank in South Ossetia to facilitate the exchange of funds for weapons and fuel, bypassing UN sanctions. These efforts aim to create an alternative international economic system that ignores Western intellectual property rights and circumvents global financial oversight.
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-cryptocurrency-moldova-kyrgyzstan-a7-sanctions/33609918.html