The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Wednesday designated the A7 Network, a Russian-linked shadow banking system used by Iran to evade sanctions, as a significant transnational criminal organization, according to an October 1 announcement. The action, part of Operation Economic Outcast, pairs an OFAC designation with a proposed FinCEN rule that would prohibit U.S. financial institutions from sending or receiving funds, including crypto, involving the A7 Network Sub-Agents.
What Treasury announced
OFAC sanctioned the A7 Network as a significant transnational criminal organization, while FinCEN issued a notice of proposed rulemaking and an alert to help financial institutions detect and report suspicious activity. “Treasury is dismantling the financial infrastructure that allows Iran and other adversaries to evade sanctions, move illicit funds, and undermine the integrity of the global financial system,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. The network is led by Ilan Mironovich Shor, a sanctioned and convicted fraudster, and uses purpose-built Sub-Agents to disguise illicit payments as ordinary trade.
A network built on crypto and shadow banking
The network’s A7A5 token is a ruble-backed token issued by Old Vector LLC and created to let members transact internationally while evading sanctions. FinCEN found the Sub-Agents processed more than $17 billion between January 2025 and June 2026, and Treasury said the network claimed daily volume above $91.5 billion in rubles as of January 2026. The A7A5 token drew scrutiny earlier this year when on-chain data contradicted its reported volume. Treasury also tied the network to Nobitex, Iran’s largest digital asset exchange, and to transactions linked to North Korean hacks of cryptocurrency exchanges and ransomware actors.
What the action means going forward
The proposed rule would cut the network’s Sub-Agents off from the U.S. financial system, and all A7 Network property within U.S. jurisdiction is now blocked. The public comment period closes 30 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register. The move builds on earlier designations of A7 LLC and Old Vector LLC and follows the European Union’s own expansion of Russia sanctions to new crypto platforms. U.S. and foreign persons who transact with blocked parties face civil or criminal penalties, Treasury warned.
