Shafaq News- Washington

The US Treasury Department on Thursday targeted the Russia-linked A7 shadow banking network, accusing Iran of using it to evade sanctions and move funds through the international financial system.

As part of what Treasury described as an unprecedented action, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed a rule that would restrict fund transfers involving A7’s network of sub-agents and issued an alert to help financial institutions detect and report suspicious activity linked to the network.

Separately, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned A7 as a “significant transnational criminal organization,” blocking property and interests in property under US jurisdiction and generally prohibiting transactions involving the designated network.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the measures were aimed at dismantling financial infrastructure used by Iran and other US adversaries to evade sanctions and move illicit funds, warning that facilitators risk losing access to the US financial system.

According to Treasury, A7 built a global network of companies known as sub-agents to disguise payments involving sanctioned sectors and individuals as legitimate commercial transactions.

FinCEN said its investigation found that A7 sub-agents processed more than $17 billion globally between January 2025 and June 2026.

A7 itself claimed that, as of January 2026, it was processing more than 2,000 transactions a day with a total volume exceeding 7.5 trillion rubles, or about $91.5 billion, equivalent to roughly 13% of Russia’s 2025 foreign trade transactions, according to Treasury.

The department said the same sub-agents used to facilitate Russia-linked illicit finance also provided financial channels for Iranian actors, including the Central Bank of Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-backed groups.

A7 sub-agents also facilitated Iranian oil sales and weapons procurement, according to Treasury.

One sub-agent directly transacted with entities involved in Iran’s so-called shadow fleet, while that company and a sister firm received nearly $140 million from entities linked to Iranian sanctions evasion. Another A7 sub-agent transferred about $1.6 million to a company linked to Iranian sanctions evasion and weapons procurement efforts.

Treasury said A7 used falsified trade documents, import and export records and misleading descriptions of goods to make sanctioned or illicit payments appear to be ordinary commercial activity.

The network has also been linked to Nobitex, Iran’s largest digital-asset exchange, which OFAC sanctioned in June 2026, and has facilitated transactions connected to North Korean hacks of cryptocurrency exchanges, Treasury said.

Thursday’s measures build on US sanctions imposed on Aug. 14, 2025, against A7-linked entities including A7 LLC and Old Vector LLC.

They also follow an Aug. 31, 2026, alert from Britain’s National Crime Agency detailing A7’s alleged role in sanctions evasion and illicit financial activity involving Russia and Iran.