FT: Kremlin-linked payment network moved $6.9 billion through global banks

A Kremlin-linked payment system channelled $6.9 billion through global banks in an effort to bypass sanctions, according to an investigation by the Financial Times.

The A7 system was established in late 2024 by Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, who is under EU and Canadian sanctions, with backing from Russia’s state-owned Promsvyazbank, which has close links to the country’s defence industry.

A7 was set up as an alternative to SWIFT, from which Russian banks were cut off following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Kremlin promotes A7 as a major provider of international payments for Russian imports.

The Financial Times said it had examined hundreds of thousands of A7 files showing payments involving clients of major Western and Asian banks, including Standard Chartered, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank.

Some transactions involved sensitive goods, including military equipment and purchases by Russian security services, the newspaper reported.

The investigation identified a network of about 100 shell companies that opened bank accounts in countries around the world and allegedly used false invoices to conceal the nature of payments.

The documents also referred to dozens of other companies based in the UAE, Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan and Indonesia. More than half of the money ultimately flowed into Chinese bank accounts, according to the Financial Times.

About $1.1 billion passed through Standard Chartered accounts in Hong Kong between late 2024 and August 2025. During the same period, $273 million went through DBS in Hong Kong, $74 million through Citigroup and about $18 million through Deutsche Bank in Europe.

A7 also opened accounts for 17 entities at First Abu Dhabi Bank, which together sent more than $1.8 billion abroad.

The leaked documents indicated that A7 employees prepared false invoices and changed descriptions and customs codes to conceal transactions from anti-money laundering checks.

First Abu Dhabi Bank and DBS told the Financial Times they had closed accounts linked to A7. Standard Chartered, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the substance of the findings.

By Aghakazim Guliyev